Para Bellum
by okmangeez
Summary: When a barbaric attack strikes the middle of Tokyo on a peaceful day, the United Nations intervenes to defend one of its own. Now, many nations of the world answer the call to arms to bring the leaders of the massacre to justice. However, the world has been at peace for 4 decades and has prospered in the peace. Will the GATE end the peace? Or permanently cement it?
1. The Beginning

_The author, Okmangeez, does not own any of the GATE characters or the original story line. All of the characters mentioned in this story from the canon are owned by their respective authors and artists, not by this story's author. The author is not related to the original creators of the GATE._

 _Summary: When a barbaric attack strikes the middle of Tokyo on a peaceful day, the United Nations intervenes to defend one of its own. Now, many nations of the world answer the call to arms to bring the leaders of the massacre to justice. However, the world has been at peace for 3 decades and has prospered in th e peace. Will this war threaten peace as Earth knows it? Or will this bring the nations a step closer to total global peace?_

 _(Warning: This world is not_ _exactly the same_ _as our world. This world is from one of the alternate timelines that I enjoy the most called "The Land of Milk and Honey" by TheMann ( forum/threads/the-land-of-milk-and-honey-an-american-tl.320056/). It's basically our world with a few improvements._

* * *

 _Peace, Prosperity, Security_

 _That was the motto of the United Nations. The three words that the nations of the world lived by. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the short and swift War on Terror, the world really lived by those words. The world economy boomed. Foreign wars were almost nonexistent. Billions enjoyed democracy and freedom, while the few that didn't have them were slowly receiving them. Tensions died down and former enemies and rivals amended their relationships. Things were certainly looking up for all the 220 sovereign nations of the world._

 _That was. Until the GATE showed up. Both a blessing and a curse. It was a chance for the world to stall the exhaustion of resources while the world's brightest minds attempted to fix the problems with overpopulation and the reduction of oil supplies. But it was also a problem that possibly threatened the stable world. A problem that could easily lead to war..._

 _The world knew it had only one choice. The only choice to avoid a global war for these resources. It was to work together, once again, to benefit all of mankind..._

* * *

 **Para Bellum**

 **"If you wish for peace, prepare for war."**

* * *

 **March 2nd, 2045**

 _Tokyo, Japan_

 _11:30 AM JST_

* * *

"You know, I knew Japan was pretty fucking weird. But I never imagined it would be _this_ weird."

"Daniel, shut the hell up and run!"

The two soldiers rounded a corner and dived into an ally. Luckily for them, the Roman cavalry commander didn't see them and pushed his troops forward, onto the streets of Tokyo. There was screaming and shouting echoing throughout the city blocks as thousands of Roman soldiers and creatures rampaged across the city. The taller one of the two soldiers, Korean Captain Daniel Kim stood up and dusted his uniform.

"I wish _someone_ could've told us that there would be _Roman soldiers_ in the middle of Japan. Shouldn't the actors be dressed up as samurais?"

His friend, Chinese Sergeant Xiao Lin, let out a stream of Chinese curse words. "We shouldn't be joking around right now. You saw what they were doing. They were **butchering** those civilians."

Captain Kim almost made a smart-ass comment, but he instead let out a groan. "What can we do? I would gladly take on these Roman dudes and their troll friends, but we have no weapons. Not even a bloody sword!"

The Chinese NCO smiled and pulled out a gun, the standard QSZ-92 Chinese pistol issued to the army members. "Then let's find a sword for ourselves. Shall we?"

It would've been strange watching a Korean and Chinese soldier casually wearing their uniform in Japan decades ago. After all, China and Korea both loathed Japan for their actions during the Second World War. However, that gradually changed as tensions died down and the three countries began to cooperate with one another, realizing just how an alliance could be useful and necessary. Such as when the Chinese and Korean navy members rescued thousands of Japanese civilians in the '32 earthquake that shook up Tokyo. Though, Korea and China weren't the only nations to have soldiers in Japan at the time. The famous RIMPAC exercise was hosted by Japan that year, and over 40 nations were participating in the massive military games that included every branch of the military.

"I knew I should've stayed in the barracks and watched the soccer game today... Seoul is facing Pusan today and it's a much watch game!" Daniel grumbled as he crept to the edge of the ally just behind his Chinese partner. "But noooo. I had to be coerced to go to that stupid Japanese cartoon porn thing and be attacked by dragons."

Sergeant Xiao glared at him. "I'll treat you out to udon tonight if we get out of this mess. So shut your mouth."

The Korean officer smiled as he zipped his mouth closed. Sergeant Xiao looked both ways and mumbled. "On the count of three, I'm going to shoot at a few Romans coming our way. Once I take a few of them down, grab one of their swords and use it. You know how to use a sword, right?"

Captain Kim rolled his eyes. "It shouldn't be hard, right? Basically a bayonet with a handle and longer blade."

"Eh. I guess if you want to think of it like that. Sure. Don't get skewered like a kabob."

"I could really use a kebob right now."

The Chinese sergeant sighed. "You and your obsession over food."

"Better than obsession over nearly naked Japanese cartoon characters."

Sergeant Xiao Lin stood up and ran out the ally without another word, Captain Kim following closely behind.

6 shots rang out of the gun, dropping 5 of the Roman squad that was coming their way. What Captain Kim realized though was that there were at least 2 dozen Romans in the group. And all of them were coming out of the initial shock and fear of the firearm. The Korean captain quickly snatched one of the swords on the ground and lifted it in a defensive position.

"Xiao you crazy bastard! You didn't tell me there were _20_ them!"

The sergeant only gave out a devilish grin as he fired his pistol again, dropping a couple more. "But we have a gun and they don't."

That grin came off his face when the surviving members of the squad began to charge at them. The Chinese sergeant took aim while the Korean captain charged with his sword. A few well aimed shots managed to hit a couple more, but several of them were still alive as the sergeant attempted to switch another magazine into the gun.

 _Clang._

The solid sound of metal meeting metal almost surprised Captain Kim, as he parried another jab by the Roman in front of him. He swung his blade, but the Roman caught the swing cleanly. However, the captain's reflexes were much quicker and slammed his sword into the Roman's helmet. The Roman cried and fell backwards, knocked out for the count.

Captain Kim turned around to see his friend firing at more approaching Romans. He quickly joined in and kept a few of the Romans distracted using his sword. He was successful at dodging and weaving between the jabs and strikes when he heard Sergeant Xiao give out a small yell as a few other soldiers approached him.

"I'm out of ammo, damn it!"

As if someone was responding to his comment, a few shots rang out from the distance and killed the remaining Romans that were charging at the Chinese man. The others engaging Captain Kim turned around and ran at the sight of their fallen comrades. The two modern soldiers turned around to see a couple of Japanese police officers and a civilian with their weapons drawn.

The two approached the officers and thanked them. Thankfully, language wasn't a huge barrier to the translators that most soldiers and law enforcement officers carried in their ears. "Thank you for the help, officers. My friend here thought it was a brilliant idea to rush at a mob of Roman soldiers without checking his ammunition first."

The sergeant grinned sheepishly. "I could've sworn that I had extra magazines, but apparently I didn't."

The police officers looked them over. "Are you two officers?"

"I'm a captain of the Republic of Korea Army. And my friend here is a sergeant in the People's Liberation Army. We're here for the RIMPAC exercises. Though, may I ask if it's allowed to hand out weapons to civilians, even in times like these?" Captain Kim inquired.

Frowning, the civilian man gave the Korean officer a look. "I'm an officer in the JSDF. Lieutenant Itami Yoji, at your service."

Captain Kim nodded. "Anyways. This area is cleared for now, but I have no doubt that the bloody Romans will return. We should evacuate the citizens while we have the chance before they kill more people."

"The Imperial Palace!" Itami stated. "It's away from the fighting and has walls surrounding the premise! The civilians will be safe inside!"

One of the police officers looked at him incredulously. "The _Imperial Palace?_ But the Emperor..."

The Chinese sergeant gave a threatening look to the law enforcement officer. "Civilian lives are at risk here, gentlemen. Emperor or not, the lives of dozens of people are in our hands. Make the call, officer."

The police man avoided the look and sighed. "Alright. I'll make the call and check."

Meanwhile, the captain was finally able to make a call to HQ. "This is Big Boss in the Ginza district. We might need some heavy support. Like APCs or tanks would be _really_ nice. Don't we have a couple of K2s doing military exercises just out of Tokyo? Yeah, the enemy might have primitive weapons, but some of their creatures like the dragons are real tanks from what I've seen. You already deployed the air force? You should warn the pilots that the dragons are pretty agile and should use missiles instead of their guns. Yes, i did just say _dragons_. No, there are literally _thousands_ of them. I'm not even making it up, somehow there are thousands of bloodthirsty Romans and mythical creatures in downtown Tokyo. I'll try to find out more, but I might need my pack and supplies. Thanks. Big Boss out."

Captain Kim and Lieutenant Itami walked back towards the others. "So, command promised me that they'll send in some armor support and that the air force is already on its way here. We should be in good hands."

"I just received confirmation that we can lead the civilians in to the Imperial Palace! Let's move!" The police officer on the phone shouted.

The Chinese and Korean officers nodded at the Japanese group. "Alright then, let's move fast before the fighting pick up. Shall we?"

One of the police officers handed the captain a pistol with some extra rounds. Captain Kim accepted them grudgingly, but also kept the sword he had picked up just in case. Sergeant Xiao was also given an extra pistol from a fallen officer, because the ammunition of the Chinese and Japanese guns was different. Lieutenant Itami looked at the others and nodded. "Let's go and follow me! We're going to lead the civilians through the Hanzou Gate and they can escape from there!"

Hundreds of civilians followed the small group of officers, along with a couple more random police officers and and SWAT units that had been scattered due to the chaos. The large group encountered only light resistance as the civilians were safely sent beyond the Hanzou Gate. However, the units around the walls fell onto the ground as projectiles crashed into the walls, frightening the civilians and ensuing a panic.

"Shit! Enemy artillery in bound!" Captain Kim shouted as another wave of projectiles crashed into the walls. One shot managed to land on the cluster of civilians, killing a dozen instantly and wounding many more. The captain stood up as he quickly helped any injured civilians to evacuate faster. "Where the hell is that support?!"

Unfortunately, his screaming would have no answer as the enemy bombardment continued. Captain Kim helped countless amount of civilians, along with Lieutenant Itami and Sergeant Xiao, while the other officers also assisted and protected the rushing civilians as much as possible.

After most of the civilians were evacuated, the radio on one of the police officer's shoulder blared. "This is Unit 3 at Double Bridge. Our position is being overrun by the enemy trolls and Romans. We're requesting heavy back up, over."

Sergeant Xiao gave his friend a side glance and the Korean nodded. He whipped out his phone and spoke into it urgently. "We have a situation at Double Bridge. I'll be heading over there right now, but I suggest we focus our forces over there first. If that bridge is overrun, then we'll have a lot more civilian casualties at hand."

Captain Kim waved his hand at Itami. "You seem to know the area pretty well. You think you can lead us to the Double Bridge?"

The Japanese lieutenant nodded. "It's a few minutes from here, so we should be able to help."

The captain grinned. "Great! Then let's get going. We don't want to miss out on all the action, right?"

* * *

 _United Nations_

 _الأمم المتحدة_

 _联合国_

 _Organisation des Nations unies_

 _Организация Объединённых Наций_

 _Naciones Unidas_

 _Vereinte Nationen_

 _An organization that promotes global peace and prosperity. It is possibly one of the most influential and powerful organization in the entire world, as the United Nations have gained tremendous power in order to regulate war and create economic stability, which it has done excellently over the past century. The United Nations reforms in the late 90's that allowed minor nations to gain a larger voice helped to balance out the power between the weak and the strong, although the United Nations Security Council (consisting of the United States, the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, Great Britain, the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Republic of Korea, the Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of India) do still hold some rights and privileges._

 _The United Nations has managed to settle major conflicts with limited bloodshed, such as the various genocides in Africa, the War on Terror, the Second Korean War (a relatively bloodless and peaceful war), the Pakistan Crisis, and the Somalian Civil War._

 _As of 2045, all nations of the world have a seat in the United Nations._

* * *

Modern artillery rumbled as the combined arms of many nations began to pound the enemy formations with laser pointing to avoid any unnecessary destruction or casualties. As the artillery spewed death to the invaders, Captain Kim and the others arrived at the Double Bridge to witness an epic struggle between police officers and SWAT members facing off against Romans with arrows and swords. The Korean captain swore as he muttered. "Where the hell is the backup?"

The captain looked at the onslaught before him and had second thoughts of diving into the fighting with only a sword and a single pistol. The others, except Itami, looked the same. However, his moment of hesitation was broken when he heard a familiar noise in the sky.

A pair of K-35's, Korea's newest generation of jets, streaked across the sky, their tails becoming purple from their engines. The two jets dropped their smart bomb payload as the bombs flew towards the enemy artillery and archer units, destroying them instantly and causing instant chaos. From the corner of his eyes, Captain Kim watched as several tanks and APCs belonging to different countries move into action, although he saw a tank that he trained besides for years. He grinned like a little kid getting a present for Christmas as he dashed across the street and jumped onto the tank, ignoring the sudden shouts and yells from Sergeant Xiao, Lieutenant Itami, and the other police officers.

He rapped on the tank cover and a Korean woman popped out. She was Lieutenant Soo Bin Choe, a relatively young tank commander who graduated at the top of her class. She grinned when she saw the person sitting on her tank. "Careful, this thing is expensive."

Her counterpart only laughed. "Only 25 million dollars per tank. No biggie. You have any spare equipment in there that I can use? I'm getting sick of using a pistol to fight off these idiots."

The girl rolled her eyes and yelled at her subordinates to throw her the pack. She caught the pack and tossed it at the captain, along with a K2 assault rifle. "This is your stuff. Command told me to give it to you. Good luck fighting out there. I'll be laying back in my comfortable tank and take pot shots at the enemy."

Captain Kim inspected his gun and strapped the pack on his back. "Thanks. I probably won't need it. They have swords. I now have an assault rifle. Easy right?"

Lieutenant Choe laughed. "Yeah, I can't _wait_ till you get your ass kicked."

The captain waved good bye and joined Sergeant Xiao, who had also received a weapon from his countrymen. "A freaking submachine gun. The JS9 is the worst... It runs out of ammo so quickly..."

Captain Kim slapped the Chinese man's back. "Look on the bright side! At least you have a gun! Those guys are coming after us with thin steel shields and a sword!"

While they were talking, Lieutenant Itami walked up to them. "Let's get going. Our forces need every help they could get."

The three rushed into battle, as guns began to blaze from the tanks and infantry units.

* * *

 _In 2003, the War on Terror ended in a decisive allied victory. Dozens of countries that participated in the invasion of Afghanistan let out a sigh of relief as the Taliban was wiped out for good. The United States led the relief effort and had the help of many countries to rebuild the war stricken country of Afghanistan. The rebuilding efforts took a full decade, but it led to the re-stabilization of the Middle East and the death of terrorism. Afghanistan became a shining example of improvement and progress as they became one of the richest Middle Eastern countries a few years after the US completely withdrew from the state..._

 _That would be the last major war any nation would fight._

 _Of course, the world still had its problems. Iraq still had some issues with human rights. China was still firmly communist, though their human rights records improved greatly. Korea was still on the process of modernizing the north after the Reunification War in the 90's. Africa still had holes. The Balkan states still squabbled over borders._

 _However, after the War on Terror, it became increasingly clear that the world was moving away from the idea of war. In 2020, the United States fully withdrew from Germany and mostly from Japan, leaving only a carrier task force in Okinawa and withdrawing the rest. Russia joined the European Union in 2022. China increased ties with Korea and Japan and began talks to create a railroad that would one day span across all three countries. India, after the brief war against Pakistan in 2030, settled the border disputed with both its western neighbor and China. The Middle East was quiet as Israel worked with its Arabic counterparts even more closer than before._

 _And the people of the world looked at this gladly, as they saw the chance to finally put war as a thing of the past and to work in harmony..._

* * *

 **March 30th, 2045**

 _New York, United States of America_

 _9:32 AM EST_

* * *

"With the recent reports revealing that the world beyond the "GATE" is not of this Earth, the United States proposes an international coalition to enter through the GATE and deal with the criminals who massacred thousands of civilians and attacked the State of Japan by surprise."

The United Nations meeting was in session, with all 220 member nations present. The media was in the back, taking pictures and notes as the Secretary of State Carlos Loya spoke to the crowd. "Although the GATE is within the boundaries of Japan, the United States believe that this matter doesn't regard just Japan. This problem matters to all nations of our world, as an army from a _different_ world invaded ours. It is only fair for the United Nations, acting as the international organization that oversees conflict and wars, to take matters into its own hands."

The Japanese representative, Ambassador Masaki Osato, nodded. The pressure of the event was immense, as he knew for a very fact that the international community stood united against the invaders and wanted to intervene in the conflict. As a result, the government in Tokyo had told him to allow the UN forces to be formed, mainly because Japan wasn't ready to fully commit to an all out war and the will of the people to receive help elsewhere instead of sacrificing only Japanese soldiers and supplies. "Japan has no objections to a United Nations Peacekeeping Force.

"Then we will vote on the intervention into the world beyond the GATE and firmly establish our goals before we send our troops to war. As many of you are already aware, this will be the first war in many decades. The younger generation has grown up in a time of peace and prosperity. Let us make sure, as the older generation, to take full responsibility of our actions and avoid to break world peace." Secretary Loya stated to everyone in the General Assembly.

All the representatives nodded in agreement. All the participating nations knew the risk this new world presented. An opportunity to delay the dwindling world resources, but at the same time a possibility that a war could break out over the GATE...

* * *

 ** _The United Nations Resolution 9932_**

 _Recognizing that the State of Japan, a member state of the United Nations, was attacked without warning and lost thousands of civilians in the initial invasion._

 _Condemning the barbaric actions of the invaders acted upon the civilians of Japan._

 _Stating that the so called "Empire" beyond the GATE is the instigator of the attack._

 _Agreeing, all 220 nations, that the leaders of the so called "Empire" must be responsible for the attacks and be brought to justice._

 _The United Nations agree to allow a multinational United Nations Peacekeeping Force to bring the leaders of the attack to justice, to survey and gather information about the "Empire," and to, if required, occupy the territories of the Empire to force the "Empire" to turn to diplomacy if resistance continues._

* * *

 **June 2nd, 2045**

 _Tokyo, Japan_

 _8:21 AM JST_

* * *

Daniel Kim looked at the forces surrounding the GATE. There were thousands of soldiers from a dozen different countries at the location. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Great Britain, China, Russia, Korea, India, Israel, and Iran sent soldiers and various support units to assist in the attack. There were also thousands of civilians, held back by the police, cheering on for the UN soldiers to bring justice. The entering process had begun and the first of the JSDF infantry units entered through the GATE, followed by the Japanese J-90 tanks and APC units. The next in line was the Canadian forces consisting of several infantry battalions and a Panther tank unit.

"What a day to be alive. Can you imagine all these nations working together to beat another country up just a hundred years ago?" Sergeant Xiao said to the Korean. The sergeant was wearing the green camo uniform, along with the PRC flag on his left arm and the UN flag on his right arm.

Captain Kim snorted. "I don't think this would've been possible just 20 years ago. But I guess the world made a lot of progress, huh?"

Sergeant Xiao picked at the Chinese flag on his uniform. "Eh. I like it. It means I can freely stream Japanese anime in my hometown without any censorship."

The captain rolled his eyes. "You and your fucking Japanese porn. That's like borderline pedophile dude."

"IT'S _ANIME,_ NOT _HENTAI."_

"Yeah yeah. Keep telling yourself that."

A voice rang out over the speakers. "United Republic of Korea forces! Prepare to enter through the GATE!"

Captain Kim gave a thumbs up to the Chinese sergeant. "I'll see you on the other side. Let's see who kills more Romans."

The sergeant returned the thumbs up. "You're on. Whoever gets more pays for dinner the next time we come back?"

"You're on."

The Korean captain joined the rest of his compatriots in line. He looked up to see General Sung Woo Rhee, the commander of the Korean Division, order his troops forward. Captain Kim looked back to see a dozen or so K-2 tanks and KAMI APCs move forward with the thousands of Korean infantry and marine units.

The general raised his fist in the air and yelled at his troops. "For the Republic, United Nations, and Japan! _Dahanminguk mansae! Yeonhab Gugga mansae!"_

" _Mansae! Mansae!"_ Thousands of voices cried out as they began their march into the GATE.

As he got closer and closer, Captain Kim gripped his weapon tighter and tighter. It was time.


	2. (A Little Background Info)

**Summary of the World.**

 _(AN: I did mention this world, while it is very similar to our world, is quite different from our world in many ways)._

Compared to our world, this world is a world where America did the "right" things during the Cold War and beyond, resulting in a stable and peaceful world that is gradually building itself up higher.

A basic summary of the world is that after the Second World War, America reaches the age of Civil Rights a little earlier due to some minor changes in terms of people that survived the war. In addition to this, America never develops a hardcore anti-communist stance, instead developing a doctrine to support democracies and bring the said democracies to their sphere (without coups and the such). Not only that, but America also partakes in massive infrastructure overhauls and healthcare/education reforms. All these little changes result in a relatively quiet Cold War (with nukes over everyone's head, of course). The Korean War happens as per our timeline and ends in a stalemate. However, the Vietnam War never happens, as America only provides air support and military trainers to help South Vietnam. Instead of a direct military intervention, America appeals to the United Nations, which manages to oversee elections and see the peaceful separation between the two Vietnams (Communist North and Democratic South). The Iranian Coup never happens and democracy continues in the country, which becomes a powerful and useful ally for the USA towards the end of the Cold War to put the heat on the Soviets. Israel agrees to a two state partition at America's insistence, and the United Nations send peacekeeping forces to make sure the two state solution works. As a result, Palestine becomes an official (and pretty rich) country, living peacefully besides Israel. Due to this, the Arabic countries aren't as hostile to Israel and begins to work with Israel (with the exception of Iraq, as they aren't really liked by anyone). China's Tiananmen Square massacre is far worse than OTL, resulting in the PRC being forced to make reforms. A more prominent US industrial base also slows Chinese growth, allowing India (an ally and partner of the US) to overtake the Chinese in the GDP rankings. The rest of Asia sees rapid growth, especially South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. As for Europe, it is very similar to OTL. However, Czechoslovakia never goes communist, instead becoming a democratic stronghold. As a result, Austria safely joins NATO and the western powers.

When the Soviet Union collapses in 1993 due to an internal civil war, the communist bloc of the east collapses. North Korea's regime also collapses, prompting the short and quick Second Korean War, in which South Korea swiftly occupies and forces the North to bow. One by one, the communist countries are overrun by protesters and republicans as democracies are established throughout the remaining communist nations, including the island nation of Cuba that heavily relied on Soviet aid. After a short agreement, North and South Vietnam are also reunited into a single democratic state that allows the communist party to run for government (and they win several times democratically). After a few years of bloody civil war and with the help of the United Nations, Russia is finally able to reunite into the Russian Federation, moving closer to the West due to their assistance in the Russian Civil War.

After that, it's similar, yet much different, than our world. The 9/11 attacks do happen, but the locations are different. The Twin Towers are downed, but explosions also happen in Time Square and various other landmarks. The War on Terror starts in 2002 and ends within a year, with America and co. invading only Afghanistan (they ignore Iraq) and taking down the Taliban, killing Bin Laden in the invasion. Afterwards, a solid reconstruction plan is laid out which allows Afghanistan to get back on its feet in 15 years as a stable, democratic nation. The Pakistan Crisis sees the end of the Muslim government in Pakistan and a new government that is less extremist take forth. Africa, once a poor and struggling continent, sees relatively modest growth with thanks to international aid and peacekeeping efforts to prevent genocide (especially in Angola, where Canadian special forces stormed the country to prevent the death of thousands of minorities there).

Overall, the world is peaceful. Russia is on good terms with Europe (joining the EU in 2022) and even the United States. Japan has amended (and apologized) its ties with Korea and China, which both countries have accepted. North America is definitely one of the richest continent, with Canada, the USA, and Mexico all booming from various industries. South Asia has also seen incredible growth, though the South Asian countries still lag behind the Big Asian Four (India, China, Korea, Japan). India is the second richest nation on Earth, with one of the best rated democracies and an improving living standard to all. The Middle East is relatively quiet, though the Saudis are hostile to the Western powers (as they were one of the few to support Pakistan and profited from oil sales to them). Iran, Syria, Iraq, Israel, and Palestine all live quietly next to each other, working together more than often on various domestic issues. South America is also quiet and prosperous, with Brazil and Argentina leading the way. And Central America is now more or less a union between the nations, all of them stable (as the US never intervened here and supported anti-communists, instead befriending the democratic regimes and supporting them).

 **Some Stats of the Major Nations (These are 2015 estimates):**

 **Argentina**

Population: 42,790,110 (21st)  
GDP (nominal): $1.552 Trillion (21st)  
GDP / capita: $36,280 (11th)

 **Australia**  
Population: 23,454,851 (24th)  
GDP (nominal): $1.594 Trillion (20th)  
GDP / capita: $67,964 (2nd)

 **Brazil**  
Population: 200,852,762 (5th)  
GDP (nominal): $5.265 Trillion (5th)  
GDP / capita: $26,214 (17th)

 **Canada**  
Population: 41,127,184 (22nd)  
GDP (nominal): $2.803 Trillion (12th)  
GDP / capita: $68,166 (1st)

 **China**  
Population: 1,285,210,865 (1st)  
GDP (nominal): $6.657 Trillion (4th)  
GDP / capita: $5,180 (25th)

 **France**  
Population: 68,023,751 (15th)  
GDP (nominal): $3.325 Trillion (9th)  
GDP / capita: $48,886 (7th)

 **Germany**  
Population: 82,876,427 (11th)  
GDP (nominal): $4.128 Trillion (6th)  
GDP / capita: $49,813 (6th)

 **India**  
Population: 1,105,844,376 (2nd)  
GDP (nominal): $8.988 Trillion (2nd)  
GDP / capita: $8,128 (23rd)

 **Indonesia**  
Population: 235,815,542 (4th)  
GDP (nominal): $1.725 Trillion (19th)  
GDP / capita: $7,317 (24th)

 **Iran**  
Population: 72,816,433 (14th)  
GDP (nominal): $2.522 Trillion (13th)  
GDP / capita: $34,641 (12th)

 **Italy**  
Population: 60,855,754 (18th)  
GDP (nominal): $2.453 Trillion (15th)  
GDP / capita: $40,315 (10th)

 **Japan**  
Population: 132,144,059 (8th)  
GDP (nominal): $6.671 Trillion (3rd)  
GDP / capita: $50,483 (6th)

 **Korea**  
Population: 82,164,545 (12th)  
GDP (nominal): $3.775 Trillion (7th)  
GDP / capita: $45,945 (8th)

 **Malaysia**  
Population: 32,767,251 (23nd)  
GDP (nominal): $984.104 Billion (24th)  
GDP / capita: $30,033 (14th)

 **Mexico**  
Population: 114,816,308 (9th)  
GDP (nominal): $3.022 Trillion (11th)  
GDP / capita: $26,322 (15th)

 **Nigeria**  
Population: 153,468,911 (6th)  
GDP (nominal): $1.459 Trillion (22nd)  
GDP / capita: $9,507 (22nd)

 **Philippines**  
Population: 101,667,435 (10th)  
GDP (nominal): $2.486 Trillion (14th)  
GDP / capita: $24,453 (18th)

 **Russia**  
Population: 141,683,296 (7th)  
GDP (nominal): $3.025 Trillion (10th)  
GDP / capita: $21,360 (20th)

 **South Africa**  
Population: 55,125,744 (19th)  
GDP (nominal): $1.769 Trillion (18th)  
GDP / capita: $32,029 (13th)

 **Spain**  
Population: 49,252,037 (20th)  
GDP (nominal): $2.244 Trillion (16th)  
GDP / capita: $45,568 (9th)

 **Sweden**  
Population: 10,640,055 (25th)  
GDP (nominal): $552.876 Billion (25th)  
GDP / capita: $51,962 (5th)

 **Thailand**  
Population: 66,954,701 (16th)  
GDP (nominal): $996.259 Billion (23rd)  
GDP / capita: $14,880 (21st)

 **Turkey**  
Population: 74,006,595 (13th)  
GDP (nominal): $1.795 Trillion (17th)  
GDP / capita: $24,261 (19th)

 **United Kingdom**  
Population: 64,519,278 (17th)  
GDP (nominal): $3.578 Trillion (8th)  
GDP / capita: $55,462 (4th)

 **United States**  
Population: 327,765,581 (3rd)  
GDP (nominal): $19.026 Trillion (1st)  
GDP / capita: $58,048 (3rd)

 **Character Cast ("The Crew"):**

 _(AN: This list does not include everyone that will appear in the story. Just some of the important ones.)_

 **Captain Daniel Kim, 707th Special Mission Battalion, Republic of Korea Army:** A 26 year old Korean captain that joined the military to continue his family's tradition, Daniel Kim is from a well off family from Seoul. His Korean-American father served during the Second Korean War, leading his battalion into Pyongyang, and during the War on Terror, one of the five thousand elite Korean soldiers to counter the Taliban in Afghanistan. He joined the army at the age of 19 and showed talent in just about every area of combat. As a result (and thanks to some connections), the young soldier became part of the 707th Special Forces at the young age of 23, earning his captain rank a few years later serving in Somalia on a peacekeeping mission. Captain Kim is compassionate and determined, yet he struggles motivating himself to do things and is a Korean drama addict. He also has an unhealthy obsession with food, especially Chinese food.

 **Sergeant Xiao Lin, 197th Infantry Division, People's Liberation Army:** A 24 year old Chinese sergeant that befriended Daniel during the 2044 RIMPAC exercises that were held in Jeju Island, Korea. Born and raised in Shenyang, Xiao was raised during the time when censorship in China began to die down, allowing greater freedom of ideas and foreign literature to enter China. As a result, Xiao was exposed to Japanese anime when he was younger, leading him to be hooked for the rest of his life. In addition to this, he began to develop relatively neutral views of Japan and a favorable one of Korea due to information being leaked into the PRC, a sharp contrast to his parent's generation that loathed the Japanese and looked down on the Koreans. Xiao joined the military when he was 17 to escape the boring city life and was promoted to sergeant when he was 23 after he showed excellence in the RIMPAC exercises. Xiao is very similar to Daniel, as he is laid back and let life push him around. However, he's very touchy on the subject of anime and his sex life.

 **Lieutenant Soo Bin Choe, 3rd Armored Brigade, Republic of Korea Army:** Soo Bin is a 26 year old woman who was a high school classmate of Daniel. She hated the constant pressure of the Korean culture forcing her to study and instead chose her own path, joining the Seoul Military Academy at the age of 18 and becoming a lieutenant after graduating at the age of 22, joining the armored corps. However, she had discipline issues, despite her skills in leadership, and was kept as a lieutenant for years. Soo Bin is ambitious, yet she can be cowardly and loud at times. She is often teased by her peers and called the "Red Hot Chili" due to her red highlights and her hot headed personality.

 **Sergeant Major Justin Robinson, 1st Marines Division (Pacific), United States Marines:** Blond and tall, Corporal Robinson is a 34 year old Marine that joined the army after graduating college. Despite his rather intimidating looks, he wears glasses (rejecting any suggestions of laser eye surgery) which soothes his intimidating factor. He is called the "Little Professor" because he studied history at UCLA and he doesn't shut up about it. However, he's still very deadly in combat, volunteering for multiple peacekeeping missions around the globe and being one of the few soldiers to have experienced combat for a decade. The Little Professor is loud and outgoing, always talking about important historical battles. Which makes the others tell him to shut up.

 **Specialist Arie Leimena, Kopassus Special Ops, Indonesian Army:** Despite most soldiers being sent from major nations, Indonesia was unable to offer much due to the massive '32 earthquake that shook the northern part of the country. As a result, a small detachment of special forces members were deployed. Kopassus Special Ops was sent in as an anti-guerrilla expert brigade, bringing along Specialist Leimena. The 28 year old specialist grew up in the prosperous parts of Jakarta and benefited from the massive economic growth that Indonesia saw in the 20's. However, his life came to an abrupt halt when his parents died in the great '32 earthquake that shook Jakarta and the surrounding areas. Grief stricken, he joined the army and joined the Special Ops, being deployed to various places across Africa and, silently, areas in the Middle East regarding Saudi Arabia to counter guerrillas. He's quite moody and silent, and usually talks only when being asked a question or being ordered around.

 **Private First Class Emily Jump, Queen's Division, Royal British Army:** Emily is a young and relatively innocent gal that grew up in the city of Dover in Great Britain. Despite excelling in her studies, she chose to join the army, mainly because the army offered great benefits and an opportunity to travel the world on various training missions. Despite her parent's disapproval, she joined the army after graduating from Durham University and traveled throughout Europe and the Americas. However, after the GATE incident, she and the Queen's Division were called to transfer into Japan to join the UN coalition on their invasion of the world beyond the GATE. After hearing this, Emily was quite excited, as she saw this as an opportunity to become one of the first people to explore a new world. Emily is carefree and despite her smartness, she has little common sense and is not street smart at all. She is obsessed with sweets, especially Swiss chocolate.

 **Private Vladimir Makarovich, 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade, Ground Forces of the Russian Federation:** After severe budget cuts to add more money to the economy, the Russian Federation Military was sliced down to become a lean and mean machine, instead of a vast horde of soldiers. The 6 million men army that Russia maintained during the heights of the Cold War was cut down to 600,000 soldiers. This resulted in the standards of joining the military increasing dramatically. When Vladimir took the exam to become a soldier in the Russian Army, he faced no difficulties as he was physical fit. He did, however, have some problems with his written exams, as he did not finish high school, dropping out to join the army instead. Regardless, he was accepted and trained at the age of 16. He is, by far, the youngest one of the group at the age of 18. However, he is still considered an elite soldier due to his place in the respected and feared Spetsnaz Brigade. Despite his physical looks and skills, he's rather humble and is a limited drinker. Though, he does like calling everyone by nicknames (his favorite is "Yanks" which is always towards the Americans).

 **Corporal Dov Kahan, Desert Reconnaissance Brigade, Israeli Defense Force:** A master of scouting and espionage, Corporal Dov's skills are unique, as he is part of the famed DRB of the IDF. Despite joining at the late age of 24 into the army, he was instantly picked as a suitable candidate for the elite scouting team of the Israeli Defense Force, which was often used to scout out enemy positions and even infiltrate bases. After 2 years of grueling training, Dov was turned into a valuable scout and an invaluable eye in to countering extremism and insurgencies across Africa. He served in Africa for 4 years before being recalled to Israel to be sent off to Japan, as his skills would be of great value in the new world. Despite his fame as a master scout, he's quite friendly and approachable. And he shares a friendly rival with his Iranian counterpart Partam. Corporal Dov eats all types of meat, despite traditions, and sleeps with a pistol under his pillow.

 **Private Bucche, 1st Mongolian Infantry Battalion, Army of the Republic of Mongolia:** Mongolia, seeing that their economy and military was stable enough, decided to send a small team as part of the UN expeditionary force as a good will. Due to the fact that they rarely participate in UN operations, most of their troops are "green." Private Bucche is one of them, a 23 year old rookie soldier from the town of Sainshand. She joined the Mongolian Army mainly because finding work was quite difficult in the little town and Ulaanbaatar, the nation's capital, was too busy and noisy to suit her. Bucche loved the desert so she joined the Army to become a border guard, watching the borders between Mongolia and China. However, Mongolia decided to randomly select soldiers to join the expedition and Bucche ended up being selected to be part of the "1st Mongolian Battalion." Despite some pleas to the government, Bucche ultimately decided to just go with it and left with 299 other of her fellow Mongolians. She's probably the "normalest" of the bunch and has never seen actual war up close. She looks fairly young for her age and is suspect to culture shocks due to the fact that she never traveled outside of Mongolia. Though, she does watch a ton of Korean dramas and loves American food.


	3. The Right Thing

_AN: Thank you for all the reviews for Chapter 1 and the short summary chapter. I have to say, this is my second FanFic after my first one was abandoned because a lack of interest. I enjoyed the GATE series, but I want to make it a bit more realistic and show a bit more of a diplomacy/political side to this, so I'll be writing events similar to canon, but will most likely explore outside the canon also. Your reviews and suggestions really motivate me, so thanks so far y'all._

 _The author, Okmangeez, does not own any of the GATE characters or the original story line. All of the characters mentioned in this story from the canon are owned by their respective authors and artists, not by this story's author. The author is not related to the original creators of the GATE._

 _Peace, Prosperity, Security_

 **Part 2: The Right Thing**

* * *

 **June 6th, 2045**

 _UNP (United Nations Peacekeeping) Headquarters, Alnus Hill_

 _1:20 AM Local Time, +4 since D-Day_

* * *

When the Empire attacked, they thought they were facing an easy enemy. A land that could be easily taken and conquered. Instead, they found a nation that, despite its hate for war, resisted furiously. Not only did that provoke one powerful nation, but the Empire provoked the entirety of the world, prompting all 220 nations to agree unanimously to form a Peacekeeping force composed of soldiers from all over the world. In another world, just Japan was more than enough to severely crush the Empire forces surrounding Alnus Hill. In this world? It was even _more_ so.

Captain Daniel Kim pointed his K2 Assault Rifle at the mass concentration of soldiers coming towards him. The enemy troops were walking under the moonless sky, as if they thought they had the element of surprise with them. The captain had silently laughed in his mind of the attempt, as nearly 15,000 UN Peacekeepers from the first wave of troops were ready to engage. Tanks, shrouded by the darkness of the night, silent awaited with their turrets and machine guns at the direction of the enemy. Artillery pieces and mortar crews were ready to cause havoc and destruction upon the ranks of the enemy, while the snipers had their laser pointers directly at the officers of the enemy. Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers, consisting of a mix of regular infantry to the elite special forces, had their guns locked and loaded for the action about to begin.

Next to the captain, Sergeant Xiao Lin pointed his QBZ-95, complete with an 80 round drum, at the wave of Romans. "This would be hilarious if it wasn't for the fact that they actually think a night attack would catch us all by surprise. It's almost something out of a Japanese fantasy manga."

"More like child porn, but whatever you say sergeant. Get a girlfriend instead of a body pillow." Captain Kim mumbled under his breath, adjusting his red laser sight.

Before the sergeant could swear at the snarky comment, Lt. General Kouichirou Hazama, commander of the UN forces, spoke into the radio earpiece. "The enemy is 1,500 meters away. We will engage when the enemy is within the 1,000 meter range to minimize our casualties and maximize enemy casualties. Be prepared for my command to fire."

The Chinese sergeant was still fuming, but he looked down at his sights of his assault rifle, a small smile on his face as this would be his first engagement. As for the Korean captain, his face was passive. He had fought in Somalia to help maintain the democratic government there from warlords who attempted to wrestle control of the country. Captain Kim was an experienced soldier, but it didn't mean he enjoyed killing people. He only killed because it was his duty, both to him and his country. And now, for the world. "Remember the bet Xiao. If I get more kills, you buy me dinner back home."

Xiao snorted. "Alrighty then. You'll have to come with me to Shenyang to buy me some _Chow Fun_ and _Xiao Long._ They're really good, but it might cost you a bit."

The captain chuckled. " _Xiao Long."_

"So?"

"Your name is Xiao, idiot."

Sergeant Xiao groaned. "Your puns are terrible. I want to rip out my translators now."

Captain Kim grinned at his comrade. "Those things are expensive and taking them out might break them. And as for my dinner... Hmm. I'm digging some real _Chow Mein_ and some Chinese styled _Jjangmeon._ Maybe some Korean BBQ as the main course. As for dessert, oh. Maybe some _mochi_ ice cream or something."

As the captain listed his dinner preference, Sergeant Xiao shook his head. "I never understood how you could eat _that_ much food. The first time we ate together at Jeju, you ate two freaking servings of the Japanese _shabu shabu._ "

The Korean shrugged. "The servings were really tiny, in my opinion."

Shaking his head again, the sergeant turned back to his assault rifle. "Guess I can't lose this bet. I'm already running a little low on money after I bought all the anime action figures and pictures."

"Virgin." Captain Kim said, a little loudly so the people around them could hear. The comment brought a round of snorts and laughter from the other UN peacekeepers.

The sergeant turned bright red as he shook his fist at the officer. He managed to land a punch on the Korean's shoulder when a voice rang out again in the earpieces. "Enemy has entered the kill zone. All weapons loose! I repeat! All weapons loose!"

A flare lit up the area around the hill, as if the sun had suddenly risen form its slumber. Artillery pieces began to fire, while the tanks fired their turrets and machine guns. Almost instantly, all the UN forces on the ground began to fire their weapons. Captain Kim aimed at an incoming wave of cavalry and fired his K2 in burst mode. The tracers on the bullet struck home as the entire wave of cavalry was crushed within seconds. He quickly readjusted his sights and fired.

 _Click._

 _Crack. Crack. Crack._

 _Click._

 _Crack. Crack. Crack._

Every press of the trigger brought out three deadly shots. And most of the shots landed in flesh and blood. After pressing the trigger 10 times, the captain slid one of the sliders back to release the empty magazine and load in a fresh new one.

And then the process repeated all over again.

 _Click._

 _Crack. Crack. Crack._

 _Click._

 _Crack. Crack. Crack._

The endless barrage of gun fire continued. Over. And over. And over again.

* * *

The landscape had changed again after the third battle over Alnus Hill, with new craters and scars dotting the large hill. Captain Kim would've said the hill looked like the landscape of the moon, but the dead bodies of soldiers, creatures, and horses tied his tongue.

Sergeant Xiao walked up to one of the dead bodies. The thin metal armor was absolutely nothing against gun fire, as the bullets sliced through the armor like paper. The poor Roman soldier's body was riddled with bullet holes, with at least a dozen of visible bullet holes in his torso alone. The sergeant grimaced at the sight and gave a brief glance to a broken flag next to the body. It was some sort of clan banner, with an animal that was hardly visible because of a huge rip in the middle. The two UN peacekeepers took off their helmets and gave a small moment of silence for the fallen soldier.

"When you read wars in history books, they make it sound dangerous, but heroic. Like, saving your country and that kind of shit. But they never show the gruesome side of war." Sergeant Xiao said numbly, his eyes still on the dead body. "Is this even a fucking war? They're utterly outclassed. I mean, at least those insurgents in Somalia had guns to fight back with. These guys are fighting us _literally_ with sticks and stones."

Captain Kim said nothing as he picked up a spent bullet and slipped it into his pocket. A large flock of vultures had gathered around the dead bodies, picking off the flesh of the dead bodies strewn all across the hill. There was an eerie silence between the two, except for a few hissing noises coming from the vultures.

After walking past a few more dead bodies, the captain finally spoke. "I've seen war. I was there when the UN finished up the operations in Somalia with a final blow to the Somalian insurgents. I've seen people fight fanatically to their deaths and I've seen plenty of dead bodies before. Mostly of the enemy. But this." His hands waved at the thousands of dead bodies. "I don't even know what to say actually. I know we came here to arrest the leaders of the attack, but do we really have to kill thousands of people, soldiers like us, to take maybe a dozen or so people alive?"

"A rich man's war and a poor man's fight, huh? Funny how our world used to be like that just a few hundred years ago." Sergeant Xiao said solemnly. "Maybe we can honor those who died here by arresting that emperor bastard and making this world a better place for the people. Just like Afghanistan."

The Korean captain nodded, slowly. "But still. HQ told us 60,000 died. 60,000 _fucking people._ Add that up with how many died at Tokyo, another 60,000. _120,000 people_ died in a span of 4 attacks. That's a huge price for these people to pay, even if we help the people here out."

Sergeant Xiao's grip on his rifle tightened. "Whoever is that emperor is going to pay. Pay _big_ time."

"Insane, I know." A new voice popped up behind them. Lieutenant Soo Bin Choe joined the pair. "But we have to remember that the nation we're facing is not a civilized one. Heck, _the Taliban_ was probably more civilized than this "Empire." And judging by the intel we received from the thousands of prisoners we have back in Japan, they have around 80 million people to spare."

 _80 million._ That was around the population of Turkey, which had around 81 million people. And Turkey could field a _large_ number of troops. "At least we have the Chinese to help us out."

The lone Chinese of the trio stifled a laugh. "Haha. Too many Chinese. Hilarious."

Captain Kim and Lieutenant Choe smiled at that comment. People always poked fun of China for their massive population, a breath-taking 1.5 billion people. It seemed like people had been making fun of China about its population forever.

"So, lieutenant. What else do you know about the Empire? And you too, captain. I know officers are told a lot more of the goodie than us lower class peasants."

The two officers were a bit better informed on the Empire than the NCO. They knew, for a fact, that the "Empire" broke possibly every single international laws regarding human rights, with the biggest one being of slavery. The duo were also aware that the Empire oppressed its own citizens and enslaved anyone that weren't "human" in their eyes. The prisoners were very useful for information, as they were treated practically as royalty compared to the conditions of the army they were forced into. After adjusting and fixing some of the grammar and word differences, the translators were able to translate Latin, or the Empire's version of Latin. It was a tremendous task, but some of the UN's most skilled interpreters had managed to break through the barrier.

Lieutenant Choe's face gave nothing away. "All I can tell you is that they do some messed up things. A _lot_ of messed up things. Think like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Taliban combined."

Just the thought of the image shook Sergeant Xiao up. "They're that bad?"

The silent reply gave everything away.

"Why hasn't the UN announced it to the world yet?"

Captain Kim answered that one. "They need more proof. They need physical evidence that there are enslaved people and the such to actually take action. The UN just can't declare the Empire as an enemy of humanity if all the claims against them are bogus. So until then, we're "investigating" the matter and doing our job of fighting the enemy."

The sergeant picked up a broken spear and looked at the splintered shaft. "I guess I understand. And if the UN declares the Empire as an enemy of the state..."

"Then the territories held by the Empire are seen as hostile and we'll go on the full offensive, instead of an aggressive defense." Captain Kim replied immediately.

Sergeant Xiao pulled out his smartphone, the newest Galaxy Tab made by Korea and handed it to the captain. For a moment, Daniel looked impressed. "The S21? That only came out last month and it costs like ₩500,000,000 ($450)!"

The Chinese man scratched the back of his head. "Well... Yeah. I mean, I decided an old iPhone 6 wasn't really worth keeping and saved some money for this one."

"It'll be ancient in another 3 years, trust me. I have the S19, and they were the _thing_ just 2 years ago." The Korean captain assured his friend. "But uh. Why are you giving this to me? Is it an early Christmas present?"

Xiao laughed. "You wish. I think buying you meat for dinner should be considered as a Christmas present. I want you to take a picture of me."

Lieutenant Choe plucked the phone out of her ex-classmate's hand. "And you were absolutely terrible at taking photos when we were younger, so I'll be taking it."

Despite the objections made by the captain, the lieutenant coolly pushed him aside into a dead horse and pointed the phone at the sergeant. "Alright, tell me when you're ready."

After a couple of minutes, the sergeant came across a relatively intact banner. He planted the banner into the ground and saluted at the banner. The lines of dead bodies were clearly visible in the shot as Lieutenant Choe took the picture.

The picture made Sergeant Xiao look like a respectful soldier, paying tribute to the dead. Captain Kim had to admit, the picture looked pretty good. But he didn't say that out loud. "You look like a soldier on a Chinese communist propaganda poster."

Even the sergeant snickered at the comment. "I'm _way_ better looking than those cartoon characters."

Another spar of words was about to begin when Daniel's radio crackled, as he had detached the ear piece from the actual radio. "Big Boss. This is Unity. You are to come back immediately for a debrief for your next mission. Bring back Phile with you. Soobak was sent out to meet with you, bring her back too. Over."

The captain brought the radio to his mouth. "Unity, this is Big Boss. I have Phile with me and I also have Soobak. We're about a klick out from base, so we'll be back in 10. Don't worry about us. The only threat out here is the swarm of vultures. Over."

"Copy that. Don't get eaten. Over and out."

The other two UN peacekeepers had been listening in on the conversation and seemed interested in the code names. Especially Sergeant Xiao. "So uh. Why am I Phile? And why is she Soobak?"

"Well, because Lieutenant Choe's name sounds a bit like Soobak and she loves watermelon. Meanwhile, you love anime so we decided to cut off the "pedo" and just call you "phile." I recommended that name actually to HQ." Captain Kim replied with a blank face.

Sergeant Xiao's yells could be heard back at the UNP HQ as the Chinese NCO chased the Korean captain all the way back to base at full speed, with the lieutenant tagging behind the two.

"Unity, this is Big Boss. Never mind, I'll be there in 5. Over and out."

* * *

The two flew into the main UN HQ building at top speed. Shortly afterwards, Lieutenant Choe rushed in gasping for breath. "You two are absolutely crazy."

Lieutenant Colonel Jasper Lee of the United States Army scowled at the three. "Of course. Just what I need, three _competitive idiots_ on an important UN squad."

At the word "important," the three immediately straightened up and saluted their UN superior. "Sir!"

The lieutenant colonel still wore a scowl on his face as he spoke. "A bit better. Now, as you know, the enemy forces have been shattered and our drones have reported back that the area is cleared for now, save for a few stragglers here and there. Since we don't have any direct threats facing us, the commander has assigned elite and experienced soldiers to take some of the younger and green soldiers out on survey missions."

Captain Kim blinked at his superior. "Survey missions? That's it?"

That comment almost made the lieutenant colonel explode. "Captain Daniel Sunwoo Kim. I am well aware of your heroics during the Ginza Incident and your service record in Somalia. However, I am still your superior and so is the general. You, along with your other _heroic_ friends, will be leading Recon Team Two, as you are the highest ranking and most experienced officer of the squad you will be assigned to. And keep in mind that your survey team _isn't_ small. It'll consist of an entire squad consisting of 4 vehicles and 12 soldiers, including yourself. Keep that in mind before you do anything reckless."

The captain looked at the American incredulously. "12 soldiers? Why not stick to a traditional 10 man squad?"

His comment was met with a sigh. "That is what I suggested also... But the upper echelons of the UN won't let it happen. They insist that each team has enough firepower to destroy an enemy army if they were to encounter one. That's why they added a tank to each squad and added specific specialists and the such. In addition to _that,_ a lot of people insisted that rookie soldiers need to be paired up with some of the experienced ones to learn and stay out of trouble. So you're getting a mixed squad."

"I'm guessing these two are in my squad then?" Captain Kim shoved his thumb towards the other two behind him.

The man nodded. "Lieutenant Choe and her tank will be added to your squad, along with Sergeant Xiao and..."

A bang stopped the lieutenant colonel's sentence. "Sorry, am I late?"

The same scowl the three received when they entered the office appeared on the officer's face. "Late again Itami. Even if you're hailed as one of the "Heroes of Ginza," I would have expected the generals would put someone a bit more _comptent_."

All three soldiers turned around at the same time. At the doorway was Lieutenant Itami, with a sheepish grin on his face. "Drat, I shouldn't have shown up at all."

"Did you say something, lieutenant?"

The Japanese lieutenant saluted. "No sir!"

"And as for you _lieutenant,_ you'll be in charge of Recon Team Three. Try to stay out of trouble as much as you can."

The otaku lieutenant merely nodded.

"Remember to be as _friendly_ as possible. Your mission is to explore the area and make contact with the locals. Try to get them on our side and _don't_ make me fill out extra paper work."

" _Hao!_ "

" _Yokhai!_ "

" _Yeh!_ "

The UN officer looked at them again, still a bit weary. "Alright. Captain Kim, report to Garage 8 and meet with the other members of Recon Team Two at 1000. You are to head out by 1100 hours. Lieutenant Itami, you are to report to Garage 4 and meet with your team. Head out at the same time as Team Two. That's all for now. Dismissed."

The four UN peacekeepers saluted the L.C. and stepped out of the office. Captain Kim sighed. "Let's just hope these missions will be peaceful instead of us going in and shooting things."

Sergeant Xiao, for once, agreed with his squad leader. "I think I had enough fighting for now."

* * *

 **July 19th, 2041**

 _Unknown Town, Somalia_

 _7:21 AM AST_

* * *

 _Five UN peacekeepers wearing desert camo uniforms rushed across the silent Somalian town devoid of human life._

 _"Where the hell are the civies?" Arrowhead asked his four comrades._

 _Big Boss shushed him and whispered. "I don't know, but I got a bad feeling about this."_

 _His prediction was correct, as a mortar shell exploded nearby, destroying the gas tank of a car on the streets. Gun fire chattered throughout the street as the UN peacekeepers ducked for cover._

 _"Unity! Unity! This is Big Boss! Coordinates are 5.21 north, 47.28 east! We're pinned by hostiles and town has no civs! I repeat! Town is filled with hostiles but no civs!"_

 _Pot fired off a burst of his standard M18 assault rifle behind his cover. "If we don't move fast, they might get a lucky mortar shot or two on us!"_

 _The Korean peacekeeper plucked a smart grenade and threw it. The grenade flew towards the enemy position and exploded. "Move! Push forward!"_

 _UN Special Forces Squad 5 moved forward, but a shot from a downed insurgent struck Arrowhead in the chest, throwing him back straight on to his back._

 _"Arrow!" Big Boss shouted. He knew the mission was important, but he couldn't leave his comrade behind. He dived onto the ground and crawled to his downed team mate._

 _Immediately afterwards, an artillery barrage shook the area, throwing everyone off their feet. Big Boss gritted his teeth as the bombardment shook the Earth and after a while, it finally stopped._

 _Big Boss looked at his team mate on the ground. Arrow merely grinned as he revealed where the bullet had struck. "Hit me right at the edge of the bulletproof vest. A small nick on my chest, but I'm good."_

 _The rookie soldier smiled back. "Let's finish this together, shall we?"_

 _There was no sign of resistance as the squad moved quickly through the crater filled streets. Finally, they found the building they were looking for and cleared out the guards._

 _"Yo, something smells really bad towards the back." Pot said to the others. "Should we check it out?"_

 _Comm, the leader of the group, nodded. "Big Boss. Arrowhead. Check out the back. We'll check out the package in the basement."_

 _Big Boss slapped Arrowhead in the back. "Did you forget to shower or something? That odor is pretty nasty."_

 _Rolling his eyes, the Filipino UN soldier opened the door to the back. And nearly dropped his gun._

 _The bad smell was from a pile of dead bodies. Dead human bodies. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were faced down on the ground. There wasn't any blood or any physical wounds that could be seen, but all of them were dead. Men, women, children. _

_Dead._

 _There was dead silence for a few seconds between the two chatty soldiers. And then Big Boss broke the silence by hurling onto the floor._

 _Arrowhead was visibly shaken as he made the call. "This is Arrowhead to Beta... We have a problem."_

 _Almost instantly, the other members came flying into the back and stared at the dead bodies. Comm stepped forward and inspected the body of a young boy. "Sarin gas. In this atmosphere, it would evaporate quickly, but it's still deadly if inhaled directly. We found chemical weapons in the basement... And some of them have been used. The rebels must've decided to kill all the loyalists before we could strike."_

 _Commander Comm realized that his two rookies were silent and slightly shaking. "I was like you two also. Eager to get out and fight for the peace of mankind. But... You have to accept that sometimes, mankind does horrible things. And this is just one of them. There will be more incidents like this where you will see people die or dead in front of you. You just have to live with it. This is why we fight, to prevent these actions from ever happening again. And we're one step closer now with the chemical weapons captured."_

 _A plane with the UN markings flew overhead and circled around the town. Comm looked up. "Looks like the others are here. Let's head out now boys. The others will take care of this."_

* * *

"Captain Kim."

Big Boss opened his eyes and looked at the speaker. It was Sergeant Xiao, with a concerned look on his face.

"You alright? You looked a little pale for a second."

The leader of Recon Team Two nodded. "I'm fine. At least, I hope I'm fine."

Sergeant Xiao raised one eyebrow. "Alrighty then. The other members are here, maybe you should come and greet them."

Not wanting to show any signs of weakness, Captain Kim got up immediately and walked out of the small office room where he was resting.

Outside, the other 10 soldiers of Recon Team Two were waiting for their commander. Captain Kim looked at the soldiers. The group was an odd bunch of soldiers from different nations, most of them with different flags on their left arm. The officer saw a variety of flags, ranging from the obviously recognizable US flag to the relatively unknown Mongolian flag. All of them were talking (or arguing, on the case of the Russian and the American) before Captain Kim cleared his throat. At that moment, all of the soldiers scrambled into a line and saluted. "Sir!"

Captain Kim motioned for them to relax. "At ease, soldiers. You don't need to be so stiff. I would give a whole "we can do it, UN fuck yeah" speech, but we're a little short on time. We'll just head out for now and introduce ourselves in the car. Our destination is a small village twenty klicks north west from here. Remember, we're only gathering information about the Empire and this world. We are to avoid engagement as much as we can and to be friendly to the locals. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The 12 soldiers replied.

"Good. Let's load into the vehicles and head out. The other groups should be leaving soon, so we don't want to be caught in the traffic."

Lieutenant Choe entered her tank with 2 other tankers while Sergeant Xiao and Captain Kim climbed into the Humvee. The other 7 went into the two other vehicles, a Chinese Type 97 IFV and a Russian BTR-D APC.

After double checking the ammunition and fuel supply of each vehicle, the convoy of Recon Team Two rolled out of the garage and drove towards the front gate.

"Control, this is Big Boss of RT 2 heading out to the Gamma sector. Confirming 12 friendlies in RT 2 and 4 rides approaching the front. Please open the gate. Over."

"Big Boss, this is Control. You are cleared to leave the area. Remember to check in every 3 hours to Unity. Control over and out."

The four vehicles rushed out of the UNP HQ and into the open.

* * *

 _AN: And that's all for this chapter! Yes, the story will go off the canon course for a short while (Recon Team Two will not be heading to Coda Village). But that will change a bit in the near future._

 _A canon character WILL be on Recon Team Two (hint: every squad should have one of this type of soldier)._

 _Edited some of the back story due to criticism and logic, thank you._


	4. Two Fronts

_AN: I have no words that can describe how I'm feeling after I saw all the comments._

 _Joy. Excitement. Motivated. Those are probably the words that hit close to home. But not quite there._

 _I thank all my readers so far for giving me positive feedback and asking for more. And you bet I'll write some more :)_

 _I'll attempt to_ answer _all questions and update every Saturday._

 _As for the questions in the Review section:_

 ** _happybutter:_** _Many thanks :)_

 ** _Mr. Obama:_** _Thank you also. And this world is slightly different than ours (read part 2, there's some backstory to it). So the political situation of Brazil in this world is stable, and the country itself is quite prosperous._

 ** _aise77:_** _Thank you! And I am Korean myself (South Korean of course), born in the motherland. I live in America now though._

 ** _Tolene:_** _Ah. I didn't really talk about space programs in this new world. The space programs are MUCH more sophisticated than ours. In fact, it was the EU Space Agency that managed to make the very first "spaceship" so to speak. A space ship that can enter and leave the atmosphere freely (a little like the space shuttle, but much cheaper and easier to maintain). The ISS is bigger in this world, as the world has pretty much worked together to build up space. A moon base has been planned, but is not official. A Mars expedition is set for the year 2047. Some mentions of a UN space agency has been suggested, but nothing major has been planned. The major space agencies are the EUSA, NASA, China National Space Administration, Russian Federal Space Agency, Korea Aerospace Research Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Indian Space Research Organization._

 ** _MODERN ARMED FORCES:_** _It is indeed him. Or similar to him anyways. Good catch!_

 ** _Guest:_** _I actually had that in mind. Spread the word of the UN, make the UN presence clear, and project its power without needless bloodshed. As for the protests, I had that in mind as well. The manga itself kinda let the Empire characters get off too easily. If thousands of innocent civilians were slaughtered, I would expect major protests to pop out when high members of the Empire visit (like Princess Pina for example)._

 _The author, Okmangeez, does not own any of the GATE characters or the original story line. All of the characters mentioned in this story from the canon are owned by their respective authors and artists, not by this story's author. The author is not related to the original creators of the GATE._

* * *

 _Peace, Prosperity, Security_

 **Part 3: Two Fronts**

* * *

 **June 6th, 2045**

 _Coda Village, Empire_

 _12:21 PM Local Time, +4 since D-Day_

* * *

After a short hour long journey, Recon Team Two crawled to a halt just outside the village the squad was assigned to. The two armored infantry vehicles screeched to a halt first, followed by Captain Kim's Humvee tailing the two closely behind, and finally ending with the large K-2 tank. The noise of engines was quite loud as everything near the village was instantly silenced by the appearance of the mysterious vehicles. As the engines shuddered to a halt, the villagers began to flock back inside to their houses, not quite comprehending what they were seeing. And just to scare the villagers even further, a single shot from the Type 97 IFV's machine gun rang out. The foreign noise made the villagers close their windows and doors tightly. By the time the UN soldiers climbed out of their vehicles, the village was oddly quiet.

Captain Kim turned to two of his subordinates, Sergeant Lin and Private Vladimir Makarovich, shooting daggers at them with his eyes. "I allowed you two to drive mainly because both of you are skilled and experienced soldiers that know how to handle the APCs. But I _did not_ tell you two to have a racing competition because it was open ground. And what's worse is that because you stopped so fast, Private First Class Jump fired off a round that scared the villagers. Congratulations, you might have already compromised our mission."

The Russian and Chinese soldiers grinned sheepishly and maintained a respectable salute. Sergeant Lin stepped forward. "Captain, we apologize for our childish action. You can punish us however much you want when we get back to base. Right now, I think you should stop yelling before the villagers get even more scared then they already are."

Turning towards the village, Captain Kim realized that his Chinese friend was right. The villagers were peeping out through the window cracks, only to cower back into their house in fear as the captain's gaze went over to them.

 _Just like Somalia._ Captain Kim thought to himself.

He set out a sigh to relax himself and turned to his subordinates again. "I'll have multiple sets of punishments for both of you. And the first one will be that _you two_ take first watch. Instead of the usual two hours, you two are doing _four_ hours of watch while the rest of us sleep."

Sergeant Lin and Private Makarovich nodded. though they were clearly not happy with the punishment.

The officer looked at the rest of his squad. All of them were carrying their own battle rifles in their hands. "I think we've already intimidated the people of this village enough. Stack your guns in the car and lets enter the village without any visible weapons in our hands. Remember, this is the second front of the war. The first front is the battle against the enemy soldiers. The second front is the battle to win the hearts and minds of the people. You are to treat each and every villager with utmost respect, understood?"

"Yes sir!" The 11 soldiers of the team replied in unison.

All of the soldiers began to walk towards the entrance, looking at the village name. Although all of them had downloaded Empire Latin into their translators, none of them could actually read the language. The squad's official "translator", Sergeant Major Justin Robinson, read the village name for them. "Coda Village."

They continued their trek inwards. Some of the villagers actually opened their doors and took a step outside after seeing that the strange men in green posed no threat to them. Though, all of the villagers still looked threatened by the presence of the UN peacekeepers. Captain Kim went towards a young woman leaning out the door and asked a question, whispering his question in Korean first to get the Latin translation. "Excuse me. We're sorry that we've startled the people in your village. But can you possibly tell us where the leader of your village is?"

The woman pointed towards a house that looked like a small church at the end of the street. Before he could thank her, she slammed the door shut and the sound of a bolt sliding was heard by all the squad members.

Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa gave a small smile to her leader. "Well, they're certainly friendly."

The captain replied with a small frown. "I was hoping they would be a _bit_ more open after we showed that we weren't a threat, but I guess I was wrong. We'll see what information we can gather from their town leader and head on our way to the next village."

* * *

All the UN soldiers trudged outside of the village, looking back wearily at the entrance. The village leader, a small old man with a funny bowler hat and a pipe, had given the team some information, though nothing that was very useful. He did give some information regarding currency and culture, but that was it. It was as if he wanted them to hurry along, which, in Captain Kim's opinion, was exactly what the old man was doing. Though, the village leader did point out a small elf village just a few kilometers away from Coda Village that could potentially be useful for studying other "races" in this fantasy world. The elder was obviously surprised at the highly detailed and realistic map (thanks to drone mapping), but pointed out the location of the village and pointed them in the general direction. Despite the insistence of some of the younger members to stay and ask for more information, the others silenced them. The expression on the man's face and the general atmosphere of the village were quite clear. They were overstaying their welcome and needed to leave as soon as possible.

"How many klicks out, captain?" Sergeant Lin asked.

The Korean captain looked at the map once again and traced the path to the elf village with his fingers. "About 10 klicks due north. We'll still have plenty of fuel left to return to base, so I guess we can head towards the village and go back to base. Though, since we're heading further and further away from HQ, maintain normal readiness. I want the radar on the K2 on and all the guns manned for action if we need it. We're heading deeper into enemy territory, so better safe than sorry."

Everyone scrambled to their vehicles and prepared to leave the town. As the engines turned on and the vehicles began to roll forward, Lieutenant Choe spotted a teenage girl with blue hair near the entrance before she closed her tank cover. The girl maintained a blank face, but waved her hand towards the Korean lieutenant. Despite receiving the cold shoulder from most of the villagers, Lieutenant Choe smiled and waved back. That was when she realized that the girl had some sort of staff with her, a staff that looked awfully like something out of an role playing game that Choe used to play years ago. The thought remained with her as she slid back into her tank and closed the cap.

It was time to go.

* * *

 **December 1st, 2043**

 _Burao, Somalia_

 _6:21 PM Local Time_

* * *

 _"Be weary team, the people here aren't too friendly. Remember, we've fought for this town for nearly 10 days and the locals have never made contact with the UN peacekeepers. Have your weapons ready and be on guard. We don't want any incidents to happen here."_

 _Big Boss looked around town. Burao was a strategic trade hub in northern Somalia that the warlords used for profits and a pool to recruit new solders from. After heavy fighting between the UN peacekeepers and the partisans headed by the warlords, the UN troops finally prevailed and occupied the town, beginning the end of the civil war._

 _He wasn't the same innocent soldier that began his tour in Somalia any longer. After 2 years of witnessing the horrors of war, almost nothing could faze him. Mass murder? Check. Slavery? Check. Weapons of mass destruction? Check again. Somalia wasn't just a war zone, it was the hell of all war zones. It was possibly the messiest and biggest UN operation to date, and after 5 years, the UN was now just beginning to clean out the country and re-unite it under the democratic government in Mogadishu. Big Boss himself watched his comrades die and many more injured. It was nothing like what he had envisioned living in the sheltered environment of Korea._

 _As his squad marched down the streets for its daily patrol, the captain caught the eyes of some of the civilians. When the UN entered the city after the fighting, there was no celebration on the streets. No excited civilians decorating soldiers with flowers. Not even a word of thank you from the civilians. Instead, the UN peacekeepers came face to face with reality. The people in Burao was tired of war and tired of being fought over. Additionally, they were indoctrinated and brainwashed by their warlords to believe a twisted version of the world. And they believed that the UN would be no better than their old masters._

 _Every set of eyes he met, the civilian dropped his or her gaze. As the patrol walked down the street, conversations were shushed and stores suddenly closed. Adults ushered their kids inside and doors were slammed shut. Only when the patrol was at the end of the street did the civilians peek out and come out again. Every street they turned into was the same process. Once the civilians saw them, they turned their backs on them and went back into their houses._

 _They won one war. But was losing another one._

 _When the sun came down after hours of patrolling, the team turned to the street where their barrack was. Everyone was visibly tired and sweating, even though the winds were chilly. The leader of the squad urged his team forward as the team was motivated by the thoughts of rest and good food. Captain Kim saluted to the guards at the gate and ushered the others in, but before he could enter himself, a small boy came up to him. The boy was holding a small plate in his hand, covered by a piece of cloth. He handed it to the UN peacekeeper, giving the man a small bow before running off. Curiously, the captain lifted the small cloth off of the plate. Beneath the cloth was traditional Somalian food. The digaag (chicken), made Somalian style, mixed with bariis (rice) and khudaarta (vegetables). He could smell the tickling aroma as he stared at the dish, wondering if it was given to him by mistake. Burao was just entering peace and UN aid hadn't arrived in large quantities. The chicken and the vegetable in the dish had to be worth tons, and Captain Kim wondered just how much a family had to sacrifice to make a dish like this during tough times._

 _He gave one last glance at the direction of the boy and stepped inside. A small salute of thanks, though the boy would never see it._

* * *

"Hey captain, you see it too. Right? I'm not hallucinating, am I?"

"No corporal. I see it."

Corporal Dov Kahan, the scouting specialist, was sent ahead towards the village to scan the area around the village and to report back any hostile activity. The Israeli soldier did find the village, along with a spectacular hostile threat.

A giant red dragon.

"Corporal, you are not to engage. Return to the convoy immediately. Try to get out as fast as you can, I swear that the dragon just ate someone." Captain Kim breathed into his radio. His eyes couldn't stay off the giant dragon, which was now slamming its tail into a nearby cluster of trees, knocking them down like dominoes.

Sergeant Lin also watched the dragon with fascination. "That is a dragon, right? It looks a lot bigger than the dragons we saw back at Ginza..."

The captain shrugged. "Maybe the dragon is a different breed. And judging by how its destroying an entire village freely, I would guess that this dragon isn't owned by the Empire and is a wild creature of sorts."

Almost all the members were stunned and silent at the sight, though Lieutenant Choe was a bit more vocal of her opinion. "Shouldn't we fight the dragon and save the village? I mean, our motto is "Civilians First." There are probably people dying in that village!"

Captain Kim shook his head. "We can't risk it. This dragon is much different than the ones that our forces saw at Ginza and it's obviously much more powerful. And the fire is becoming bigger and bigger. If we jump in there and the fire spreads further, we risk being caught by the flames. We could contact HQ, but it would take a few hours for them to arrive and the helicopters haven't been sent through yet. For now, all we can do is record the dragon and send the data back to HQ."

The video camera on the front side of his helmet was already recording everything, streaming it directly into his laptop within the Humvee. If the UN soldiers had to face off the dragon in the future, they needed every piece of information they could get.

Lieutenant Choe's voice faltered. "I understand captain. But still, isn't there anything we could do for the people in the village?"

After giving it a thought, Captain Kim shook his head again. "No. For now, we can only watch and approach the village after the fire dies down. We'll do anything we can to help the survivors."

The flames burned bright as the forest and village burned by the terrifying creature.

* * *

 _"I am become Death, the shatterer of Worlds."_

 **-J. Robert Oppenheimer**

* * *

When the sun fell, the first drops of rain began to fall upon the burning forest and the small UN squad just outside of the woods. The 12 soldiers had made a small camp, consisting of 4 tents, a canopy, and a portable stove that was being used as a fire pit. Minor traps were set around the camp in the case of an ambush and Corporal Kahan volunteered to be the watch till it was time to hit the sack. Captain Kim and most of the guys were chatting and on their electronics while the ladies and Sergeant Lin, who apparently cooked at a Chinese restaurant a few years back, were cooking up dinner.

"Hell, at least there's rain. That means the fire should be put out and we'll be able to go in tomorrow." Private Makarovich said, wiping off the water on his gun. Already in the distance, smoke was rising from the fire being extinguished from the downpour.

Captain Kim was scrolling through his Galaxy S19 and reading a book called "The Second Korean War.""Which means we'll be able to move in tomorrow morning. We'll have to be extra cautious though, we don't know if that dragon will come back and surprise us."

The American sergeant major grinned while furiously typing on a history forum offline. "This weather and the dragon reminds me of the Battle of Waterloo. The rain before the big battle and then the huge fight between the two sides with awesome power and..."

"Please, Yank. Shut up. I'm tired of listening to all your history nonsense. I think I heard more history from you than my old history teacher." Private Makarovich muttered as he pulled out some Kool Aid and took a swig.

Sergeant Major Robinson growled. "Shut it Mr. "I can't even drink actual alcohol." What I'm saying is basic knowledge of history you should have."

The private rolled his eyes. "Well, I wouldn't know since I joined the army when I was 16. But I'm a soldier. I don't need god damn school lessons out in the field. Just go back to your stupid alternate history thing and stay silent for once."

Fuming, the sergeant major shot a dirty look at his Russian counterpart and went back to typing. Private Makarovich turned to his captain. "So what do you think of this world so far? It's a lot different than I expected."

Captain Kim put down his phone to make eye contact with his subordinate. "Well. I expected a lot less humans and more fantasy creatures. Not that I have any desires to meet them. On the other hand, your Chinese sergeant over there might."

Despite being tasked to make dinner, Sergeant Lin was attempting to flirt with the female soldiers, which wasn't going so well. All the ladies looked like they wanted to chuck the ramen pot at the poor Chinese man. The two soldiers watching him laughed and continued their conversation.

"This is my first actual deployment out of the country. I trained in Russia for 2 years before I volunteered for the UN peacekeeping operation to this world." Private Makarovich said.

"Why did you want to come here?"

The Russian shrugged. "I guess I wanted to go into actual combat and visit someplace new at the same time."

 _Kids. They still haven't seen the horrors of war._ Captain Kim nodded. "I did that when I was younger also. I was deployed to Somalia for 3 years as part of the UN peacekeeping efforts there. This is my second deployment."

At the word "Somalia", the private's eyes brightened. "I heard the fighting there was actually _intense._ How was the fighting there? Can you tell me a few experiences you had there?"

"Trust me, private. War is not always about honor and glory. Somalia was brutal and I lost good friends there. I wouldn't want to return to that desert hellhole ever in my lifetime."

Private Makarovich looked slightly down, but he noticed the different glance in the captain's eye at the mention of Somalia. Sergeant First Class Kurokawa hollered for the others to come and eat dinner. Everyone got up and trudged over and ate in relative silence.

* * *

 _"If we don't end war, war will end us."_

 **-H.G. Wells**

* * *

The night had been quiet as nothing had disturbed Recon Team Two as they slept (or most of the members, as two people were always on guard). When morning came, the soldiers quickly packed up their gear and drove into the village. As they neared the former entrance, the members of the team could see the charred remains of buildings and even bodies. All 12 members quickly left their vehicles and kept their guns at the ready, the soldiers looking at the sky for any sign of the dragon.

Captain Kim went up to one of the bodies and grimaced. "Totally crisped. I'm guessing everyone that was hit by that dragon's fire breath was roasted immediately. There may be no survivors left."

He stood up and looked around. "Sergeant, you do have the life scanner, correct?"

Sergeant First Class Kurokawa nodded. " _Hai._ It can detect any human life signatures by scanning for heartbeats and body heat."

"Use it and scan the area. If there's any survivors nearby, we need to know."

The Japanese medic got up and took out the medkit box along with a small briefcase. She opened the briefcase and turned on the device, activating the sensors. "It'll take a minute or two to scan the perimeter of the village, captain."

Picking up a badly burnt bow, the captain turned towards the others. "Look around and see if there's anyone still alive. The faster we find the survivors, the better."

Recon Team Two scattered and began their search for any possible survivors, Sergeant Lin looking a little too excited for his own good. Captain Kim shook his head and spotted a well in the center of the town.

 _Maybe someone jumped into the well to save themselves from the fire?_ The Korean officer thought as he approached the well and looked down.

And looking back at him was a pair of bright eyes. Startled, he activated his emergency flashlight on his helmet and peered down. An elf girl, not a day over 16 in his eyes, was at the bottom, shivering and looking surprised at the sight of the captain.

"I find one! Quick! Help me pull her out of the well!"

Sergeant Lin rushed their first and the others soon followed. Captain Kim could've sworn that the sergeant's head cam was on, but didn't say anything as he directed the others. "I'm going to lower myself in there and pull her out. Make sure to pull me up and not drop me into the well. It's not very deep, so I wouldn't want to break a leg."

Before anyone could object, the officer grabbed the rope and began his climb down, the other soldiers grabbing onto the rope barely. After a minute of climbing down against the wall, he reached the girl. She was still shivering and her clothes were drenched as she took a look at her rescuer. The elf tried to say something, but the captain couldn't understand her due to her shaking. He looked up at his squad at the top. "Tell the sergeant that the girl is at the verge of hypothermia and is shivering violently!"

Private Bucche ran off to tell the Japanese soldier while Captain Kim smoothly placed the shivering elf on his back, as if giving her a piggy back ride. He gripped the rope and pulled twice before holding onto the rope with both hands. He used the wall as leverage as the others pulled him and the girl up from the well. After he climbed over the stone walls, Captain Kim placed the survivor onto the emergency mat prepared by the medic and allowed Sergeant First Class Kurokawa to do her work.

"She doesn't look too good captain." Private Bucche said worriedly. "Will she be alright?"

Captain Kim replied. "No clue. How is she sergeant?"

After applying a blanket onto the girl and helping the elf swallow pills, the Japanese medic turned to the group. "She's alright. She doesn't have hypothermia, but she was very close. I gave her some pills that warms the body temperature up. If her condition gets worse, I have some other medicine that can help her until we get back to base."

There was sighs of relief all around as the members of Recon Team Two cheered and slapped each other. The celebration lasted until Sergeant Lin spoke up. "Wait a minute, shouldn't we warn the Coda Village about the dragon?"

A moment of silence ensued, as the UN peacekeepers realized that, for once, the Chinese man was right. If this village was destroyed in a matter of hours, then the other village could be possibly under attack also.

"Aw shit. Back to your rides! We're going to Coda ASAP!"

* * *

"Damn it! Why can't this thing go any faster?" Captain Kim yelled as he pressed on the gas as fast as he could. At his side, Private Bucche held onto dear life as the car shook and bounced on the dirt road.

Private Bucche looked a little green as she spoke. "Captain, the others are falling more and more behind. Shouldn't we wait for them? And can we go a little slower? I'm not feeling too good..."

Gritting his teeth, the captain barely made an audible reply. "No time. I already told the others to catch up as fast as they can because we need to make sure that the civilians are out of harms way. The village is only 10 klicks from where the dragon attacked. It could be in danger any moment!"

"Oh ok... But don't blame me if I hurl out my ramen dinner."

The Humvee moved faster and faster, the other three armored vehicles falling more and more behind. Within a record 7 minutes, the Humvee screeched to a halt just outside the entrance, causing a huge dust storm to appear as the two UN peacekeepers jumped out of the car with their weapons. Captain Kim panted and looked at the village and realized that it looked perfectly fine as it did yesterday.

"Alright. I'll tell the village leader about the fire dragon. Prepare to evacuate the civvies immediately and tell the others. Remember the motto."

"Civilians first. Got it boss."

* * *

"This is an ancient dragon! And a fire dragon on top of that!" The short village elder cried.

Captain Kim nodded. "The entire village was destroyed and nearly everyone died. We found one elf survivor and that was it."

The man nodded, pulling the pipe out of his mouth. "We are grateful that you have told us this!" He turned to a person behind him. "Alert everyone! Send messengers to the surrounding villages too!"

When the villager scurried away, the elder turned back to the soldier. "Where is the survivor, may I ask?"

"Right here." Captain Kim replied, opening the back of the BTR. The elf had a change of clothes, a white shirt (borrowed from Lieutenant Choe) and camo pants. She looked distressed and had been silent for most of the time.

"How tragic... Everyone one else she knew is gone. You should entrust her to an Elven village, if you come upon one."

The officer cocked his head. "We were actually planning to take her back to our base for treatment. She doesn't seem very well."

"Ah. Perhaps that can work also." The village leader said, nodding his head in approval. "I'm sorry, but let us talk later. For now, we must evacuate."

Captain Kim smiled. "I have already ordered my soldiers to help with the evacuation. They're already at it right now."

The two turned to see the UN soldiers helping the villagers load life belongings and supplies onto various carts. Even little PFC Emily Jump was helping by taking care of the kids and watching them as their parents loaded their possessions.

Bowing deeply, the village elder thanked the UN captain. "Thank you."

"You can thank us after we help you evacuate. For now, let's help the villagers."

* * *

"Oh, Mr. Cato, And Lelei too. Sorry for the troubles. An overloaded cart broke the axis and is blocking the road ahead." A villager apologized sheepishly to the elder mage and his apprentice.

The two magicians were about to step off their cart to help when they heard a booming voice unfamiliar to them. "Don't we have a HULK unit in the BTR?"

"Yeah."

"Well then bring it over here damn it! This cart needs to be moved!"

Lelei turned to see three foreign people with green clothes and carrying metal sticks. Two of them were men while the third was a woman, and it seemed like a guy with the weird symbol with a red and blue circle with black lines surrounding it on his arm was the leader. He said something to the two and they ran off towards some sort of metal box in the back.

 _Unfamiliar language. Solid green uniform. Each of them with the same symbol on their right arm but most of them have a different one on their left arm. Strange weapons. Even women soldiers among them. They're definitely not part of the Imperial or Lord's Legion._

She followed the soldiers to the front, where a cart was strewn onto the center of the street on its side. Several horses were dead, and the soldiers in green were already treating the injured. She attempted to get closer to the wreckage, but one of the women soldiers stopped her, speaking in nearly flawless Falmartian. "Stand back! We're taking care of the mess."

The apprentice magician nodded and stepped back. She watched the soldiers with great curiosity as they patched up the injured and watched the cart, as if they were waiting for something. After a few minutes, one of the soldiers came back with a large case and placed it on the ground. The soldier opened up the case and pulled out some odd objects, placing them on his arms and legs, along with his back. It looked like armor, but it didn't look like armor at the same time.

Turning to the civilians, the soldier with the "armor" spoke in Falmartian. "Stand back! I don't want anyone being hurt."

All the civilians watching scooted back as the soldier gave a thumbs up to the others. He went up to the debris and grabbed it, hurling the heavy cart over his head and throwing it into a nearby alley. He lifted up the dead corpses of the horses and tossed them away also, clearing the way for the other carts to continue. After he finished, he sat down on the ground and took off his armor, sweat beads forming on his forehead. "Whew! That is tiring."

The "leader" went up to him and gave him some water. "Don't strain yourself just yet. We might have more wrecks in the near future. For now, take a break in the APC."

"Will do captain."

Leilei looked at the soldiers with fascination. _That cart was extremely heavy and some heavy objects were also in the cart itself. Yet, using that "armor", he lifted the entire thing above his head and tossed it aside..._

It was strange and mystifying to Lelei. _Just who are these people?_

* * *

The weather was scorching hot as the sun pounded down on the poor refugees fleeing from terror. Hundreds of people were walking slowly as the heat made them thirsty and sweaty instantly. The UN peacekeepers had allowed the elderly and the young children into the APC and Humvee, but there were still dozens of people that were suffering. But the convoy moved foward, driven by the fear of the fire dragon.

Everything was rather uneventful and peaceful as the convoy moved further away from the dragon and towards Alnus Hill. That was, until Lieutenant Choe saw something blinking on her radar. As the radar started to beep, Lieutenant Choe instantly turned on her radio and signaled her leader. "Captain! Incoming bogey about two klicks out! It's moving rapidly towards our position, and I'm 99% sure it's the fire dragon!"

"Shit! We're out in the open!" Captain Kim swore. "Sergeant Major Robinson! Tell the villagers to start fleeing to that forest over there! Private Bucche and Private Makarovich! Load up the Humvee and APC and get the civvies out of here! And those of you in the K2 and the BTR, on me! We need to get the dragon away from the civilians! Remember! Civilians first!"

"Roger that!"

The soldiers scattered to do their duty as they prepared for combat. The K2 tank aimed its turret at the sky and prepped its machine gun to fire, while the BTR also pointed its small cannon upwards along with its lone machine gun. The civilians began to scatter and run towards the forest, though some did stubbornly hang onto their possessions and began to move their cart away from the road as well. In front of them, the Chinese APC and Humvee raced forward, with three dozen people squeezed in the two vehicles.

A few minutes later, a dark shape appeared in the distance. Lieutenant Choe glared at the target. "Aiming at target. KSTAM (Korean Smart Top Attack Munition) round!"

"KSTAM round loaded!" Her gunner replied right away. "Using the targeting system to aim at target! I'll fire on your command!"

The lieutenant drew in a sharp breath. "Fire at target!"

"Locked and away!"

The round fired towards the target. Unlike most regular shells, the KSTAM round was a "smart" shell, able to use infrared and sensory technology to hit the weakest point in the armor of the target. In the case of the dragon, the weakest point was the top of the head. However, due to the huge amount of wind and the dragon's speed, the shell struck one of the wings, exploding the entirety of it and making the dragon dive into a free fall.

"Incoming! The dragon lost its wing and is losing altitude!" Lieutenant Choe shouted.

The dragon crashed into the field next to the road, but it wasn't dead. It stood up and looked at the two armored vehicles, along with the civilians fleeing in terror, It shot out a stream of fire into the sky and began to move towards the tank and IFV.

Captain Kim was unfazed. "Use the MG and wear it down! We have to give the civilians more time!"

The two vehicles charged forward, peppering the armor of the dragon with machine gun fire. In the K2, the main turret was auto-reloading to line up for next shot, and hopefully the killing blow. The gunner, Specialist Dae Woo Kim, shouted at his tank commander. "Gun reloading and will be able to fire in a minute!"

Despite being under heavy fire from the machine guns, the dragon was still on its feet and shooting flame out of its mouth. Captain Kim cursed as the machine gun rounds did almost no damage to the fire dragon, only bouncing off on its hard scale. "We might need that shot now, lieutenant."

A stream of fire crashed into the side of the IFV, making the IFV tip to one side for a moment. The metal on the side of the vehicle was hot, and Captain Kim could've sworn that there was now a dent on the side of the vehicle. "Any time now lieutenant!"

"Roger that captain. We're ready for the shot!"

"Then fire your damn gun!"

The Russian IFV shot at the dragon's face to keep it distracted, as the dragon moved to cover itself, the K2 fired off another KSTAM round. The round struck home, as it hit the head of the dragon and exploded. The dragon didn't know what hit it as it collapsed and laid on the floor. It wasn't moving any longer.

Captain Kim stepped out of his vehicle and looked at the corpse. "Looks like we're going to need some help moving this. HQ will probably want it for research and inspection."

* * *

 _"The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and mind of the people who actually live out there."_

 **-President Lyndon B. Johnson speak of the Vietnam War**

* * *

"Thank you."

"No it was just our duty. We did what we're supposed to do."

"You risked your life to save us and killed a fire dragon! We can't thank you enough!"

The village elder, along with hundreds of other civilians, had mobbed them and thanked the soldiers. Only a few were injured due to the flames, but everyone was safe and sound thanks to the UN peacekeepers' efforts. The villagers were planning to move to nearby villages and resettle.

Captain Kim scratched his head sheepishly. "It's our duty to protect civilians. We just did what we were meant to do."

The village chief still looked thankful. "Thank you. We truly owe your our lives. Please! Take some of our money and goods as compensation..."

The UN captain shook his head. "No. We mean it. It's absolutely fine. We did our duty. We don't need or want compensation. Besides, with your village destroyed, you'll need every bit of help you can get."

Unfortunately for the people from Coda Village, the village was completely destroyed by the dragon's rampage. It was as if the dragon planned to attack the village, but the village had already been evacuated by then. This just made the Coda villagers just more grateful.

"Then before you leave, may we ask what army you are from? Certainly the Imperial legion would've demanded payment for even the smallest of efforts. But you did the impossible and killed a fire dragon without asking us for anything!"

The UN captain grinned. "We're part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. Or the UNPF for short. We're the army occupying Alnus Hill. If you need any assistance, make sure to come to Alnus Hill and we'll do everything we can to help you."

The man nodded. "Thank you and all of us will remember your heroic deeds here today. Though, I do have one request and I apologize in advance to put a burden on you."

"What is it?"

Sighing, the village leader smoked his pipe. "We can not take everyone. There are a few here, the injured, the children, and the elderly that we simply do not have the room or resources to take them with us. So I humbly ask that you please take care of them."

Captain Kim didn't even hesitate. "Will do."

The UN soldiers waved to the other villagers good bye as they parted ways. Meanwhile, 30 ex-Coda villagers loaded up into the APC and Humvee, with the IFV and the tank escorting the two. The convoy moved back towards Alnus Hill, much more carefree and happier than before.

* * *

"Yes general. Recon Team Two managed to take down this legendary "fire dragon." Lieutenant Colonel Jasper Lee stated to General Hazama. "The report has been sent to your tablet sir. Details of the armor and the "armaments" have been listed, along with video footage of the battle and first encounter."

General Hazama scrolled through the report. "And the threat has been neutralized?"

The American nodded. "The corpse has been brought back to Alnus Hill, thanks to our helicopters. Some UN researchers and scientists are looking at the body right now, while some UN military experts are inspecting the armor and the wings. It seems like a tank can take out a dragon relatively easily, though the fire does seem to be able to dent and melt parts of the armor."

"This might be useful in the future, so we'll keep it for now. What is the status of the refugees?"

The refugees from Coda Village were accepted with no trouble. The higher ups of the UN made it clear that the villagers were accepted, as they wanted the operation look more positive due to the controversy surrounding the huge amount of deaths at Alnus Hill.

"Captain Kim and his squad is currently tasked with watching them. So far, some of the housing units have been assigned to them."

General Hazama skimmed through other reports. "So we found out quite a lot about this "Empire" that we're facing. And one thing is fore sure, they're not democratic."

Lieutenant Colonel Lee agreed. "And the UN won't like that for sure. For now, I suggest we keep things quiet and continue operations. Learning more about the Empire, helping civilians, and that sorts."

"I agree Colonel. Lets just hope that things get better from here."


	5. Learning the Rules

_AN: Thank you to all my readers for giving me reviews. I'll try to update weekly, but it's not absolutely guaranteed because I'm in college. Cheers to the next part!_

 _This chapter will not focus on the GATE world, but our world. After all, it would be interesting to see a glimpse of our world (and the prisoners)._

 _ **M.A.F:**_ _Possibly. I really can't say if they'll make an appearance though._

 _ **Celestia's Paladin:** Pretty much. That sums it all up. This world is a lot brighter and "optimistic" in sorts._

 ** _Wacko12:_** _She didn't make her appearance like canon. But don't worry. We'll see her very soon..._

 ** _Junior VB:_** _The exoskeleton is actually something that exists today (Korea actually has made one that allows even crippled people to walk), but the ones that the UN soldiers have are a bit more advanced. And yes, the Fire Dragon has actually died._

 ** _happybutter:_** _Glad to make your day better! I'll do my part and write the story :)_

 ** _FOFF:_** _Not exactly. The exoskeleton is quite advanced and can enhance the user's strength, but it isn't built for combat. Its mainly built for lifting heavy objects (disaster teams and people in factories). It's not an iron man suit, but it resembles it._

 **ARcan:** I might be misinformed, but I read that the BTR-D can have a cannon mounted at the top. Though, I am aware that the cannon isn't an anti-air weapon. In the story, it was used for covering fire mainly and it wasn't aiming directly above.

 **:** I always thought that the dragon arc was long and kinda unnecessary. Plus, if the UN soldiers have a tank... Why not use it to kill the thing?

 **PrimusDefender501:** This entire story will probably be filled with jinxes.

 **aise77:** Itami will come out occasionally. He will not be the center of attention. And the update is here!

* * *

 _The author, Okmangeez, does not own any of the GATE characters or the original story line. All of the characters mentioned in this story from the canon are owned by their respective authors and artists, not by this story's author. The author is not related to the original creators of the GATE._

* * *

 _Peace, Prosperity, Security_

 **Part 4: Learning the Rules**

* * *

 **June 13th, 2045**

 _Tokyo, Japan_

 _10:11 AM JST_

* * *

"Welcome to Japan, Mr. President." Prime Minister Motoi Shinzo shook the hand of the American president.

President Andrew Dirrel of the United States smiled at the Japanese leader. "Thank you Prime Minister. I had to personally come because after all, Japan is our closest ally."

The two leaders walked down the red carpet which had both sides lined up with Japanese honor guards. Photographers snapped away pictures as the duo waved their hands and smiled. After a few minutes of walking and waving, the two were brought into a limo and were transported to Keio Plaza Hotel, the hotel where the various leaders of the world would be staying for the mourning ceremony in honor of the Ginza victims. The prime minister had announced to the media that he would be welcoming the guests and would be staying at the hotel for a short while. In reality, Prime Minister Shinzo was joining the leaders of the UN Security Council in a small private meeting about the GATE and topics related to it. As soon as the two were out of the camera's sight, they were swiftly escorted to a small private meeting room at the far end of the hotel. Inside the meeting room, the leaders of Russia, China, Korea, Germany, Great Britain, France, Brazil, and India were already present and talking to each other. When the American president entered, everyone in the room quieted down and watched as President Dirrel took his seat at the head of the table. Despite some people's reluctance, nearly everyone recognized that there was only one superpower in the world. And that superpower was the United States.

US President Dirrel, the most powerful man on Earth, smiled at his compatriots. He was elected mainly for his leadership skills as the governor of California and his successful run as a Democratic vice president. Despite being a rather new president, he was handling global relations very well, even the GATE situation."I thank all of you for coming to the emergency Security Council meeting today. We have much to discuss and problems to solve. After all, things have been quite chaotic because of the GATE."

The Japanese PM turned on the projector, displaying a holographic image at the center of the meeting table. The image was a diagram filled with pictures from the aftermath of the Ginza Incident, the Battle of Alnus Hill, and the news reporting the events. As the image hovered, various videos also began to play covering the GATE.

"First and foremost is the sheer amount of casualties from the Ginza Incident and the Battle of Alnus Hill. Our estimates are around 120,000 and that number isn't sitting too well with people very well." President Dirrel stated. The holographic image switched to protests across major cities after the media had revealed that 120,000 people had died. Various pro-peace groups, which had gained flocks of members due to the lack of war, had major sit-ins to protest the "senseless slaughter of natives, comparable to the United States butchering Native Americans." San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Berlin, London, Paris, Pyongyang, and St. Petersburg were hotbeds of trouble, with nearly hundreds of thousands of people blocking traffic and camping out in public grounds. "The US government is currently trying to compromise with the leaders of the various peace groups, but it'll take an enormous amount of time and effort. I'm sure the other countries are doing the same, but this is just a warning for the future. We must tread carefully and not overstep any boundaries. After all, the younger generation has grown up during a time of world peace and unity. While the older generation might understand what we're attempting to do, the younger generation will surely not."

All the leaders nodded. It was sensible, given how the last "major" war was over 30 years ago. And even that war was relatively swift and with minimum casualties. Korean President Jin Hee Kim gave his input. "120,000 casualties is quite a lot. After all, we haven't had that many casualties since the Russian Civil War 50 years ago. Its understandable why the pro-peace groups are protesting with intensity."

"That is correct. And the fact that the natives beyond the GATE have Roman-era technology and mindset doesn't help our cause either. Many of the pro-peace group members see this as a re-attempt at imperialism." President Dirrel replied.

Russian President Anton Zhabin grimaced. "Technically, we are also looking at the resources in the GATE region, correct? So the protesters are partially right, we are moving in to secure some resources."

The American president waved his hand. "That is unimportant currently. Our objective is to bring the leaders of the attack to justice and the UN peacekeepers will do so. There are resources in that land that can potentially help us ease the resource burdens, but we must not focus on that now. Many, even after the Ginza Incident, do not war. Anything we do will be watched carefully now. For this reason, I sent a personal request to the leading commander to make sure the UN peacekeepers act disciplined and assist the natives of the land as much as they could."

Da Ren Jin, president of China, sipped some of his bottle of water and turned towards his colleagues. "That make sense. Is that why the UN has also transferred some of the prisoners that were taken at Ginza to various countries for treatment?"

It was no secret that 20,000 soldiers had been captured at Ginza, ranging from humans to orcs. All of them were treated equally, despite the contempt of some GATE humans toward the "magical" creatures, and were placed in various prisons around Japan. That was, until the United States suggested to transfer the prisoners and get them through a "re-education process" to teach them of the modern world and modern values. The suggestion was passed unanimously in the General Assembly and prisoners were shipped to Canada, the United States, Korea, Russia, and even China.

"Well. My advisers did say that all these prisoners have views of a person stuck in the Dark Ages. I believe that educating them and sending them back into their homeland will be of great help to us in the future to convince the Empire to sue for peace." President Dirrel stated. "After all, you can't just teach people who've been oppressed by the Empire to suddenly embrace democracy. It takes change, like Afghanistan. And this is the first step for that "change.""

A knock on the door ended the meeting as a secretary walked in. "Sirs and madams. The ceremony will commence in an hour. I suggest you part ways before the media arrives."

The world leaders filed out and parted ways. For now.

* * *

 **June 13th, 2045**

 _Hanawon, Korea_

 _11:21 AM KST_

* * *

Augustus Civilius was not having the best of days. Sure, his supposed "enemies" had treated him fairly well and gave him luxurious food everyday. But he was still a prisoner and the enemy treated him as so. He was constantly watched and guarded daily, all the time. After seeing the amount of magic the people of this world could wield, he knew that it would be impossible to escape their grasp. So he accepted his fate grudgingly, hoping time would fly by faster until something major happened.

And something major did happen. He was taken away from his cell and sent into a huge metal ship with other subjects of the Empire. He wasn't told on where he was going except for one of the guards saying the word "Korea," which meant nothing to him. As the ship lurched forward, away from the treacherous land where many of his good friends died, he felt hollow and empty. This was the land that the Empire promised to conquer. Instead, thousands had lost their lives and the enemy was far more powerful than the Empire ever imagined.

After riding in the boat for a few hours, the metal giant shuddered to a halt as the guards quickly ordered for the prisoners to leave the ship. When Augustus jumped off the exit, he was quickly taken into a metal box with wheels. It reminded him awfully of a wagon, but this wagon was heavily armored and moved forward without any horses or oxen to guide it. It was fascinating, yet terrifying. To think that the Empire awakened this beast... August thought of his parents and his sister back at home. If the armies of this world marched into the Empire, he knew that there would be little resistance against this mighty foe.

His mind was elsewhere as the metal wagon arrived at the destination. The door to the back of the wagon opened and the guard motioned for him to get off. Augustus jumped off with ease and followed the guards inside the array of buildings. There was a sign at the front at the entrance, but he wasn't able to read it. However, to the Korean guards, they knew exactly what it said. It said Hanawon, a former refugee center for North Koreans. Now, it was for the thousands of Empire soldiers that were being transferred to be re-educated.

The first thing he did at his new home was sent to the doctor's place. Usually, he was afraid because the doctors he visited in the Empire were always in dark rooms with strange looking equipment. However, at the doctor's office he went to was brightly lit and lacked any lethal looking objects, making him a bit more relaxed. The doctor motioned for him to come and grabbed a black item that had a ball with a hook. The doctor gently grabbed his head and attached the object into his ear. Out of reflex, Augustus' head jerked back and he took a step backwards. However, the object was still attached to his ear. "What the hell?"

"Woah, calm down. It's something called a translator. It allows you to understand me and me to understand you." The doctor said as he looked at Augustus. "And it seems like its working seeing that you seem to be able to understand me."

Augustus looked at the man confused. Then realized that the man was speaking to him in fluent Falmartian. "You can speak Falmartian?"

The doctor laughed. "No. I'm speaking in my native tongue Korean. But when I speak Korean, the translator in your ears automatically changes the language to Falmartian, which allows you to understand what I'm saying. Same goes for me as well. You are speaking in Falmartian, but I hear it as Korean."

It was rather difficult for the man from the Empire to process, but he hesitantly nodded. "I believe I get what you mean. So it allows me to communicate with other people regardless of language?"

"Correct. In fact, the translator can translate 250 different languages, so you should be able to communicate with people just fine."

Spotting a mirror, Augustus went up to the mirror and inspected the object. "Fascinating... And what magic did your mages use to achieve this?"

With a confused look, the doctor adjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry?"

"Magic. Mages."

At that moment, the doctor realized what the man was saying. "Ah! You mean magic like in your world? In our world, we do not have magic. It is only stuff of legends and fairytales. Everything you see here is made by man. It was created and invented by man. No magic is involved."

August looked at the object in his ear and everything else in the room with a new look. "Everything here is made by people and not by magic?"

"Everything."

 _Perhaps it would be useful to learn a bit more about this world..._

* * *

"And this will be your room. You will be sharing it with 2 other people from the Empire and one person from our world. The person from our world will teach you everything they can about our world and will be your guide from now on. You will have classes and a variety of events you will attend, but your roommate will be the one to help you along step by step." One of the guards said, reading from a piece of paper.

Augustus nodded and entered his room. The room was much bigger and lighter than his old cell. It contained four beds, some drawers, bookshelves, a couch, and a strange looking thin metal box. There was also a bathroom and a small kitchen at the side. When the guard left, he threw his bag and sat on the couch. He was wearing some brown pants and a white shirt, his old robes and some personal possessions in the bag he threw on the bed. He went in to the kitchen looking for something to drink, but realized that he didn't know how any of the strange machines in the kitchen worked. He searched the entirety of the kitchen for several minutes without any luck.

"I just want some water to drink." Augustus mumbled as he rummaged through another cabinet, this one filled with eating utensils. "How hard is it to find some water?"

He opened a square box with handles to be met with a wave of coldness on his face. He slightly staggered back, but touched the inside of the metal box. The inside was very cold. Taking a peek inside, he saw that there was a bottle holding some clear liquid inside. He grabbed the bottle eagerly, the skin of the bottle making an odd clicking noise and bending within his grip. After several attempts of opening the bottle, he managed to cut the top off the bottle off with a knife and drank the content of the bottle rapidly.

After he drank the water, he inspected the machine that held the water curiously. "Another man made machine... Perhaps for cooling things down? There is no end to the wonders of this world, is there?"

A new voice surprised him from behind. "Believe me, you haven't seen anything yet."

Augustus turned around to see a man that was obviously the same race as the guards and the doctor from before. _He's definitely this "Korean" race._ August thought.

The Korean man smiled and held out his hand for him to shake. "My name is Jung Ho Park. But you can call me Jung Ho. I'll be your new roommate for the next 3 months."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Jung Ho." Augustus said, gripping the man's hand. Before, when someone offered to shake his hand, he was taken aback because it was a sign of asking someone for marriage in the Empire. He quickly learned that in this world, it meant friendship and partnership, a common greeting sign.

Jung Ho looked around the room. "I see that the others are not here yet. For now, we can just relax and wait. Afterwards, I'll be helping you understand some of the basics of this world, along with proper etiquette. One of the officials told me that we'll be visiting Seoul today, so that should be fun."

"Seoul?"

"Yes, that is the capital of Korea. The nation that you're in right now." Jung Ho replied.

Augustus looked at the man. "So the Empire invaded Korea?"

The Korean man shook his head. "You invaded our neighbor, Japan. You killed thousands of their civilians in their capital Tokyo. Korea is a close friend of Japan and since your Empire invaded Japan, we responded in kind by sending our soldiers to assist Japan."

The native from Empire still looked confused. "So is Japan a tribute nation or vassal of Korea?"

Jung Ho laughed at the question. "No no no. Our world doesn't have vassal nations or tribute nations. Those kind of things died down nearly 100 years ago. Korea used to be a vassal of Japan a hundred and fifty years ago. Now, we're just equal partners in everything."

Before Augustus could fire off another question, two men entered the room. They were wearing nearly the exact clothes that Augustus were wearing, except in different colors. They each held a small bag in their hand. The two men saw the Korean and the Falmartian in the room and approached them. "My name is Gallio Rex and this is Cossus Eborius. I assume that you two will also be staying in this room?"

Augustus nodded. "I am Augustus Civilius of the Empire and this is Jung Ho Park of Korea. We'll both be in this room also."

The two men shook the hands of their counterparts and sat down on the couch. Jung Ho sat on the small table in front of them as he began talking. "So now that we're all here and know each other's names, I'll get started with the "lesson" for today before we go to Seoul later."

He turned to the thin metal box and pressed a button to the side of it. Instantly, an image jumped onto the glass part of the box. The three natives from the Empire jumped a bit at this, but realized that this was most likely another part of this world's "technology." The image was a picture of a map that had various colors and lines. "This is a map of our world called "Earth." As you can see here there are a lot of lines that divide countries and the such. Your world has only one country, a massive one called the "Empire." Here in our world, your Empire is not considered massive or powerful. In fact, we calculated that your Empire is about the size of our Europe, this continent over here."

Jung Ho pointed to a section of the map at the top left. It took a few seconds for the other three to process this. Augustus got it first. "So... Your world is much bigger than our Empire?"

"Exactly. And we have more people. Your Empire has around 80 million people. Our world has 8 _billion._ Just this land called China alone has 1.5 billion people. Japan, the country you invaded, has around 140 million. Korea, the land you're in right now, has around 85 million. And yes, Japan and Korea are very small compared to the Empire."

The "teacher" continued. "And our world is rather united and countries work together with each other. The moment your Empire invaded Japan, you declared war on the entirety of the world. Let's just say that the last time someone did that was 40 years ago, and the war ended swiftly within a year."

Awestruck wasn't exactly the correct word to describe the reaction of the Falmartians. It was between "terrified" and "amazed." Gallio asked first. "Does that mean the Empire is done for?"

"Quite. Our world is holding back currently for political reasons. But if it really wanted to, it could've already destroyed the Empire multiple times over without taking a single casualty." Jung Ho replied.

Augustus didn't want to believe the man. But he sounded so confident and after seeing all the marvels of this world, he was quite sure that the Korean man was correct. "Then why is your world holding back?"

Jung Ho smiled. "Because it is not how our world acts. We hate war and destruction. In fact, the last time the world had a major war was 40 years ago. And as I mentioned earlier, it ended in a year. Our world will go to war and fight when necessary, but it doesn't like to do so. Now continuing on to other topics..."

* * *

 _AN: And that'll be it for this update! We'll jump back into the GATE world and Italica next update._

 _Happy Independence Day everyone!_


	6. The Crisis at Italica

_AN:_ _I know. That last chapter doesn't sit well with a lot of people. But I do want to give out some answers for my faithful readers out there._

 _Plus the last chapter was very short. And I feel like I cheated some of you. I do hope you enjoy this new update_

* * *

 ** _Mr. Obama:_** _A hippy Earth would actually be quite accurate of this world. Let's just say that war has become quite out of fashioned in this world. And hopefully will be in our world soon._

 ** _Lord NV:_** _Thank you for your review. And I understand completely. But several things we have to look at here:_

 _1) The Geneva Convention. Even during the darkest days of WW2, the US still followed the guidelines and gave fair treatment to the Japanese. Why? Because it was to portray the image that they were the good guys. The "leader of freedom." Imagine if the UN decided here to throw them in prison camps or execute them. That will not bode well with the population (except Japan maybe) or with the people of the Empire. The UN has to act like they're the good guys and the liberators. After all, the media will eat them alive at any chance they could get (as the world has turned pacifist)._

 _2) These prisoners will be a key piece in negotiations and erecting the Empire later on. What the UN is trying to achieve is to re-educate these individuals to understand that Earth is much stronger than the Empire and that the Empire is not the best place to be. These individuals will play key roles in helping the Empire slowly change from the root._

 _3) You have to realize that these soldiers aren't the leaders. They were just following orders. There's a reason why millions of Nazis weren't prosecuted after WW2. Simple. Because they lived in fear and had to do what their leaders told them to do. But yes, the officers and the leaders will be met with the full might of the law._

 _4) It wasn't mentioned in this chapter, but there are counter protests also protesting that the treatments are too "lenient" and "nice" even for Earth standards._

 _5) Yes. Some troops will break ranks and act undisciplined. But it won't even be at the 1% level. Because there will be international observers swarming around, keeping an eye on things._

 _If you still have further suggestions, feel free to message me! I will definitely see what I can do._

 ** _Modern Armed Forces:_** _10 years ago, we didn't even have the smartphones. Imagine how much technology can jump in 30. We already have holograms, we just don't use them much (and they're impractical for now). As for translators, it's not entirely impossible and certainly would be something people would look into to break down language barriers._

 _ **edboy4296:** Thank you! And we'll see if the Empire changes..._

 _ **Appbeza:** I stand firmly by my decisions. Don't worry. I'll keep the story very interesting._

 ** _happybutter:_** _No problem! Thanks for enjoying the story so far._

 ** _ARcan:_** _Could be my mistake. But for now, I'll let it be because it isn't a major difference to the story._

* * *

 _The author, Okmangeez, does not own any of the GATE characters or the original story line. All of the characters mentioned in this story from the canon are owned by their respective authors and artists, not by this story's author. The author is not related to the original creators of the GATE._

* * *

 _Peace, Prosperity, Security_

 **Chapter 5: The Crisis at Ital..ica**

* * *

 **June 9th, 2045**

 _UNP HQ, Alnus Hill_

 _9:21 AM Local Time_

* * *

"You can take as much as you want. I mean, some of us picked up some of the scales for souvenirs but we've literally had those laying on the ground for a couple of days now. If they're valuable, that's great. As long as you don't touch the fire dragon on the other side of the hill, my superiors don't have a problem with you picking up the dragon scales." Captain Kim said to Lelei.

The apprentice looked at the soldier with surprise, the newly attached translator working perfectly. "Are you sure? There must be thousands of scales laying around."

Captain Kim scratched his head. "I mean. I guess some people will collect some to sell it to the people in our world, but that's about it. I don't have a problem with it and none of the generals have said anything."

Sage Cato's mouth was completely open as he heard those words. _But just the sheer amount of scales laying around here can completely devalue the price of the dragon scales! Just a few hundred can keep the members of our camp wealthy for years!_

Seeing that the sage was still in shock, Captain Kim could only respond with a small smile. "I'm not kidding. Take as many as you want. Nobody is going to complain."

* * *

Meanwhile, some distance away at a small inn, Princess Pina Co Lada and her companions, Hamilton, Grey, and Noma. All of them were travelling towards Alnus Hill to assist in the attack on the invaders from the other world. They were relaxing and preparing for their next step of the journey when they overheard of the travelers talking about the death of the fire dragon.

"A Fire Dragon killed? By humans? Impossible..." Princess Pina said.

Hamilton leaned in, keeping her voice down. "These "Unoited Naeteon" soldiers that they keep speaking of. It seems like they were the ones that killed the Fire Dragon, though its still unclear exactly _how_ they managed to kill a fire dragon when nobody has ever killed one before."

At that moment, a waitress came by and heard the word "Fire Dragon." The moment she did so, she walked up to the table with the princess and smiled. "The Fire Dragon was killed by the soldiers of the "Unoited Naeteon." I assure you, young knight, that I saw the fire dragon die before my very eyes."

Noma scoffed. "You won't fool me waitress. There's no way a Fire Dragon could simply die by a few soldiers."

The veteran knight was silenced when Hamilton glared at him. "I believe you. So can you possibly tell me more about these mysterious soldiers?"

A small silver coin was slipped into the waitress' hand, who beamed at Hamilton. "Of course young knight! Let me announce it."

She cleared her throat and began her tale. "There were 15 soldiers of the "Unoited Naeteon" that saved me from the Fire Dragon's attack. Three were women and 12 were men."

"They warned us about the Fire Dragon nearby when they reached an Elven village that was destroyed by the Dragon. The soldiers were very kind and helped us pack our belongings and move away from the village. They had incredible tools to assist in every way possible. One of the soldiers had some sort of armor that allowed him to lift an entire wagon filled with furniture over his head! I had never seen anything like it! They also had four metal wagons that moved incredibly fast, much faster than a horse and they moved by themselves!"

Pina looked at Hamilton and mouthed the word _Magic?_ Her assistant only shrugged in reply. The waitress continued. "And after travelling on the roads for hours, one of the women soldiers peeked out of her metal wagon and shouted that the dragon was coming. Almost immediately, they made two of the fast moving metal wagons to carry the villagers into a nearby forest while the other two metal wagons and some soldiers prepared to fight the incoming dragon. I don't know how they knew that the dragon was coming, but they were right and the dragon came a few minutes afterwards. That was when the battle began."

Noma, who looked uninterested and had a sneer on his face, suddenly looked attentive. "Do continue, waitress."

The blonde waitress looked at the man distastefully, but continued. "These two metal wagons weren't just for transportation, but for combat too! The bigger metal wagon had a long, skinny barrel that shot out thunder and smaller magic wands that also shot out thunder, but not as powerful as the barrel. The smaller metal wagon also had a barrel, but a much smaller one and also with the smaller magic wands. They fired their magic at the Fire Dragon continuously! And when the Dragon was coming down to land on the ground, the big metal wagon shot thunder out of its barrel and hit the Dragon on the wing! When the Dragon was hit, it spiraled into the ground and launched fireballs at these metal wagons! The smaller wagon was hit, but it shrugged off fire and continued to attack the Dragon! It was as if the fire had no effect on these wagons!"

She had the attention of everyone in the inn now and she continued her story with greater emphasis and hand movements. "After a few minutes of fighting each other, the bigger wagon launched another wave of thunder at the Dragon. This time, the thunder moved and slammed the Dragon on the back of the head. It caused a huge explosion that even I was able to see in the forest!"

"The thunder moved on its own?" Grey asked. "What do you mean?"

"As exactly as I say. It was as if these soldiers could control the thunder! The thunder arced around the top of the head and hit the back of the Dragon's head!" The waitress replied, refilling some beer for an awed spectator. "The Dragon died and never got back up. Afterwards, they helped us gather our belongings and watched us part ways. I believe they took the Dragon back with them as a trophy, but I'm not too sure."

After the waitress skirted off, Noma looked visibly concerned. "While I don't believe the waitress' story fully, if it is true then these "Unoited Naeteons" soldiers could prove to be a threat to the Empire."

Princess Pina nodded. "The only way to know if the waitress is speaking the truth is to see the corpse of the Fire Dragon ourselves."

"Excuse me, waitress!" Hamilton turned to the blonde, who was repeating her story to the new travelers coming into the inn. "Do you know where these "Unoited Naeteon" soldiers were heading?"

The waitress thought for a sec. "Oh. Right. They did mention that they'll be returning to Alnus Hill. That seems like the place they're heading."

* * *

General Hazama's hands remained in front of him on the desk. "So you're asking me to allow you and Recon Team Two to go to this city called Italica for the refugees to sell scales?"

Captain Kim remained his "at attention" stance in front of his superior. "Yes sir. The city is about 120 klicks north from Alnus Hill. Adding in the rough terrain and unpaved roads, it'll take around 2 hours for our convoy to arrive at Italica. I have already checked with the Intelligence Division and they have reported that the area to the city is clear. But even if there were bandits, we wouldn't have too much trouble considering that our squad has two APCs and a tank."

The general looked a bit more relaxed than before. "Captain, I trust you more than most other officers. You have proven yourself that you're capable of leading and I have to say, I was very impressed with your records in Somalia. And just a few days before, you saved an entire village from destruction and even managed to kill the dangerous beast that has been running amok killing people. The higher ups in the United Nations are very pleased that some happy news come out of the GATE region for once. Because of that, I will allow you and your squad to take the civilians to Italica. But do be careful. And like your last mission, make sure to put the civilians as top priority."

"Will do, general." Captain Kim replied. "No harm will come to the civilians we will accompany and the civilians at Italica."

* * *

 **June 12th, 2045**

 _Road to Italica, Empire_

 _2:21 PM Local Time_

* * *

"So we travel down this Dessria Road for another hour and we'll be at the gates of Italica. Perfect." Sergeant Lin marked the journey of Recon Team Two on the map, which was very realistic and accurate due to drones.

Lelei looked at the map with great interest, craning her neck forward from the back seat. _The map is incredibly accurate. Every little detail is drawn in. It's almost as if a bird drew this map from its point of view._

She pointed at the small device that the sergeant was using to track. "What are you using that for?"

The sergeant looked at the blue haired girl, almost forgetting that they had an extra passenger in the back seat. "This is called a "compass." We use it for directions and the such. This tip of the needle always points north, so we can use the compass to have a general sense of where we're going. In our world, we use much more advanced technology called a "GPS," but we don't have satellites in space here."

Cocking her head sideways, the apprentice gave a funny look to the sergeant. "Space?"

Sergeant Lin continued to look at the map. "Yeah. In our world, we used our technology and science to reach space. We went beyond the sky and even went to the moon."

Lelei looked up at the sky. Though the moon wasn't visible at the moment, she imagined this "space" beyond the sky. "I don't think I can imagine space. It seems so far away and distant."

"It is. In fact, the first time our world went to the moon, it took three whole days. And that was with the space ship, a ship that sails through space, going extremely fast. A lot faster than this Humvee." Sergeant Lin replied. The Chinese sergeant fished out his Galaxy phone and scrolled through some of the default pictures till he found what he was looking for. "Here, I have some pictures of the moon and the view of our world from the moon."

Cautiously, the student peeked at the bright screen. A few days ago, she was confused and amazed at this device, believing it was some incredible magic. Now, she understood that this was just something made by people. Humans, just like her, but without the magic. When she looked at the screen, she saw a beautiful spherical orb, colored green and blue, floating in darkness. The next picture was also a round orb, but this one was slightly grey and yellow and looked a lot darker than the first orb.

The Chinese sergeant grinned at Lelei's priceless expression. "Pretty amazing eh? It must've been amazing for the first people to walk on the moon. The sight must have been breathtaking. Wish I could visit, but going to space is expensive and requires government approval."

 _I have learned much of the world beyond the GATE and the soldiers of the United Nations over the past few days. But I still have much to learn._ Lelei thought, still looking at the pictures. _I've only scratched the surface._

Her train of thought was interrupted as the Chinese sergeant looked at something with his binoculars and shouted at his captain. "Yo cap. We have some smoke in the distance."

Seeing that Lelei was staring at the binoculars, Sergeant Lin handed the tool to her. She used it the same exact way the sergeant did and saw the large pillar of smoke coming from the distance.

"It's called binoculars. It lets us see stuff that are far away from us." Sergeant Lin told the young girl.

Captain Kim sighed. "Sergeant, please stop trying to flirt with the native. For now, we need to maintain normal readiness. Something is happening over there, and the only city in the proximity is Italica."

* * *

"What do you think Princess? Do you think they're hostile?" Noma yelled to the Princess at the wooden door.

The princess took another peek out the small crack on the door. _Four vehicles. Each of them made out of some sort of iron cast. Maybe they're armored carts for the siege?_

She looked back at her peasant soldiers and the few remaining loyal Imperial soldiers. All of them looked frightened and weary, as they had already seen combat that day. None of them looked rested or ready to fight another engagement. Pina yelled back at her subject. "Ask them who they are and demand that they show themselves. Hopefully, they're not with the bandits."

Noma nodded and shouted at the top of his voice. "Who are you?! And show yourselves! Come out of those carriages!"

Captain Kim, who was at the head of the convoy, took a look around. "The walls are in bad shape, there are bodies on the ground, and smoke is still coming out of the city. Looks like Italica has been attacked before we arrived."

"And they're not too friendly right now captain. We should be a little cautious. Holy shit, I swear that's a _ballista_ on the wall that's directed towards us." Sergeant Lin muttered under his breath, his eyes unable to leave the ancient siege weapons on the top of the walls.

He turned to Lelei to ask a question. "Are you sure we have to go into this city?"

Lelei nodded. "There is a place in the city recommended by my teacher that can buy our scales. Italica is the biggest trading center in the region and the next biggest trading place is the capital, which is much further from here."

Before the sergeant could reply, Captain Kim slapped him in the back. "Understood. Lelei, I need you to follow me. I need a translator to translate what I'm saying."

"But you have the translator object in your ear." Lelei stated simply.

The captain rubbed the back of his head. "Well... It only works out if they also have translators. Which, they don't. I can understand them, but they won't be able to understand me."

Lelei understood what he meant immediately. "I understand. I will be your translator."

As he was turning off the engine, he radioed some commands to the others. "Do not engage at all times unless I give the order. However, I want all members of Recon Team Two to be ready if they suddenly attack us. Lieutenant Choe, contact HQ and request for reinforcements. Sergeant Lin, Private Bucche, with me. Let us greet the Imperials."

* * *

Princess Pina opened the door for the visitors. Three of them had the strange green uniform with the foreign armor and weapons while the fourth had a staff and robes. Hamilton and Grey remained close behind their royal princess, both with their hands gripped to their swords in case the strangers attacked.

 _That cane is from the Lindons School of Sorcery... An Imperial subject. The other three don't have any clan symbols that I recognize and the weapons and armor they have look different than anything I've seen._

All three soldiers had different symbols on their left arms. The first soldier had a symbol with a white background, a blue and red circl, and black lines surrounding the circle. The smaller man behind him had a red symbol with 4 little stars and 1 big star, while the woman soldier had a red and blue striped symbol with a strange mark on the left side. However, she realized that all of them had the same symbol on their right arms, a globe surrounded by blue.

 _Does that mean the symbols on their left arms represent their clans while the right one is the symbol of their Empire?_ Pina thought as the four entered through the door. The leader of the group nodded at the mage and spoke in an unknown language. Almost immediately, the blue haired girl relayed the soldier's message to the princess.

"This is Captain Daniel Kim of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. He says that he comes in peace and wish to allow some of the civilians to trade dragon scales in the local markets. He also asks if Italica has been under attack recently, as he has seen the bodies and the damage of the walls from the outside."

"Unoited Nateons? You are part of the army that took down the Fire Dragon?" Princess Pina recited breathlessly.

The leader of the soldiers nodded and spoke to the girl, who translated once again. "It was his unit that defeated the Fire Dragon. In fact, I was there to witness it and I can confirm that this man led the group of soldiers that killed the Dragon."

Princess Pina's eyes were filled with both awe and dread. On one hand, these soldiers could help save Italica from being overrun by the bandits. On the other hand, these soldiers were enemies of the Empire and could potentially turn on her and the others later on. However, imaging the rogue Imperial soldiers pillaging Italica pushed her urges to ask the soldiers for help.

"Captain Kim. I know that the Empire is currently at war with your "Unoited Nateons" on Alnus Hill, but I must request help from you and your soldiers. Without your help, it is very likely that Italica will fall into the hands of bandits."

Despite using the mage as a translator, the man whispered to the blue haired girl immediately without listening for a translation. "He said that he'll gladly help defend the city, but has a couple of requests regarding the defense."

The princess grew visibly worried. _We don't have anything to offer them. Our resources are already stretched thin and most of the royal treasury has already been evacuated back to the capital._ "And what does the captain want?'

Without hesitation, the young girl answered. "For the civilian militia to be withdrawn from combat positions and the remainders of the garrison forces to be placed behind his troops. He also requests that the main gate to be left alone and that the entirety of the defense be placed under his command for the time being."

"What? Does he not realize that the bandits that are attacking us have nearly broken through our defenses time and time again? And he wants us to just leave the walls empty and the gates open while disbanding the peasants? Does your "captain" wish for Italica to fall because he is an enemy of the Empire?" Princess Pina said, her voice growing louder as she rambled on.

Her rambling did nothing to the blue haired girl. "He and his men defeated the Fire Dragon that has not been beaten ever before. I believe that it would be wise to listen. After all, you have not seen them in combat."

To that, Princess Pina had no answer to.

* * *

The ex-civilian soldiers were helping the garrison soldiers create bags filled with rocks and sand in front of the East Gate. Everyone was working as quickly as they can, giving their best effort to finish the task at hand. After all, no body knew when the bandits would strike next but everyone knew that they would strike. And strike hard. Despite the fact that the strength of the forces was being severely reduced, soldiers and civilians alike were quite content and the atmosphere was filled with hope. The cause of the uplifted morale was the sight of the soldiers of the "Unoited Nateon," who defeated the Fire Dragon. The 50,000 citizens that lived in Italica believed and trusted in these men to protect them from the bandits. After all, they defeated the invincible Fire Dragon by themselves.

Captain Kim was with his squad at the defenses that surrounded the opening on the wall where the gate was just a few weeks ago. Princess Pina, Hamilton, Grey, and Noma were also with the soldiers. All of them still had looks of doubt on their faces, but the Imperials were silent as Captain Kim revealed his defensive plans.

"Currently, we have some additional soldiers of the United Nations arriving from different locations to Italica. If the 3 other recon teams do arrive at Italica as planned, then we will have 60 peacekeepers, 4 tanks, 8 APCs and IFVs, and 4 Humvees, all ready with full ammunition. HQ is also sending in some reinforcements also. A Chinese tank squadron, along with a regiment of Japanese infantry. "

He pointed to certain places on the map of Italica. "The North Gate will be manned by the incoming Recon Team 3, which will oversee the civilians and make sure to defend the civilians if the bandits somehow pass our other defensive perimeters. Since there is a river next to the North Gate, I highly doubt that the bandits will attempt to swim across it. That leaves us with the East, West, and South Gate. The South Gate will be manned by Recon Team 7. Recon Team 5 will take position at the West Gate. And my team, Recon Team 2, will guard the East Gate. Each gate, except the North Gate, will be reinforced with the Chinese tanks that will be arriving. The remainder of the reinforcements, the Japanese regiment, will be stationed near the center of the town at the town plaza. Since we can't precisely predict which gate the enemy will attack, each recon team will defend if their gate is attacked, and the Japanese regiment will rush to reinforce the gate the bandits are attacking."

Princess Pina looked at the several markers and signs the captain had placed on the map. She was still skeptical about the plan. After all, these soldiers were still considered enemies of the Empire. "Can two dozen men really hold off around 5,000 bandits?"

"I assure you princess that we can hold them off indefinitely if we need to. We will not let Italica fall. It is our duty to protect civilians and we will not allow bandits to kill and rape the people of Italica." Captain Kim said.

Before he was able to continue, the captain's radio strapped to his chest crackled. "Big Boss, Big Boss. This is Red Dragon and co. Convoy 2 klicks out. Rome is in sights, do not fire at us. I repeat, Rome is in sights. We will be arriving through the way you came from. Over and out."

Captain Kim adjusted the channel to match the frequency of the soldiers already present in Italica. He spoke to Corporal Kahan on the walls, who was acting as the look out."Convoy is heading towards East Gate. Do not fire and let them through the gates."

The Israeli corporal replied instantly. "Got it boss."

The Falmartians jumped at the sudden voice coming from the box. Noma looked at the box with shock. "You trapped a man in that box? What sort of magic is this?"

Captain Kim wanted to roll his eyes, but he knew that the Imperials were completely clueless about modern technology. "Sir Noma, it is called a "radio." It allows soldiers like ourselves to communicate with others that are much further away. So if my general was at Alnus and I was here at Italica, this device would allow me to talk to him directly. There is no magic involved, it is merely technology made by man."

Hamilton, the most insightful of the group, gazed at the radio. "Made by man?"

"Yes. Made by a regular human like myself. It's not magic. It's technology. Like crossbows and armor, our world developed tools to help us fight our battles better and more efficiently."

This gave the four non-Earth human a lot to think about. Captain Kim would have explained the finer points of radio, but he was short on time."The convoy from Alnus is here, so we'll finalize our defensive plans and begin the retreat of all civilians in the combat zones."

* * *

The convoy was quite an impressive sight to the people of the Empire. A dozen tanks, followed by trucks and Humvees carrying men and weapons, roared into the small courtyard beyond the East Gate. All the members of Recon Team Two and two other recon teams that had arrived just a bit earlier stood at attention to receive the reinforcements. As the vehicles shuddered to a halt, the lead tank's hatch opened and a small Chinese man that looked like he was 50 jumped out. Despite his rather slim frame, he had the insignia of a colonel on his uniform. The 45 soldiers of the 3 recon teams saluted and Captain Kim stepped up to the officer. "Welcome to Italica sir."

"Captain Kim of Recon Team Two, correct?" The Chinese man asked. Captain Kim nodded. "I'm Colonel Zhen Chi of the 18th People's Liberation Tank Corps. Only a few of our tanks are here due to some difficulties regarding organization and troop transfer. But you said that there are only 5,000 bandits that are planning to Italica, correct?"

Captain Kim nodded again. "Much less than the troops at Alnus."

The colonel grinned. "Combined with the tanks of the recon teams, it should be plenty enough to shred the attackers to bits. My men are quite excited because they missed the defense on Alnus and have been looking for some action."

Behind the Chinese colonel, a Japanese officer cleared his throat. Colonel Zhen looked at the man with contempt, but didn't say anything. The Japanese officer stepped up to Captain Kim and shook his hand. "I am 1st Lieutenant Akira Yanagida, the officer in charge of the 31st Regiment of the JSDF. We have the machine guns and mortars that you requested for the defense, along with spare ammunition and night vision goggles."

Glancing at the Chinese officer, Captain Kim could tell that the man was part of the older generation. The generation that still held resentment against the Japanese for what they have done. Relations had improved in recent days, but many of the older generation held old grudges and hostility given to them by their forefathers. The captain knew that he should separate the two soon, as the Japanese officer had an atmosphere that rubbed even the captain the wrong way. "Glad that you could make it lieutenant. First things first, we must quickly set up the defenses before night falls. Lieutenant Yanagida, you and your men help set up the defenses around the East Gate. Colonel Zhen, I do realize that you are of a higher rank then me, but we must set the tanks into position."

Both of the officers nodded and went their separate ways, not looking at each other once afterwards. Captain Kim turned towards the members of the recon teams. "We need to unload all the equipment inside the trucks and set them up. Let's move quickly, we have four walls to cover."

As Captain Kim was helping PFC Jump unload a Type 80 machine gun from one of the trucks, the last recon team, Recon Team Three, rolled through the gates. Stepping out of the Humvee was a Japanese officer with a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry I'm late. The battle hasn't finished right?"

Before arriving at the GATE region, Captain Kim had certain respect for Lieutenant Itami. After all, he was one of the "Heroes of Ginza" and the lieutenant bravely took on Imperial troops in civilian clothing and a single pistol. Now, Captain Kim didn't know how he felt about the man. The Japanese lieutenant was lazy, too laid back, and attempted to avoid responsibilities. The Korean soldier merely sighed and shook his head. "You're not late lieutenant. You'll be manning the North Gate as planned. The civilians will be under your care, so do not fail me. Understood?"

For a moment, Lieutenant Itami straightened up and saluted. "Yes sir!"

As Recon Team Three took off for the North Gate, Captain Kim looked at his watch and glimpsed at the map again. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Darkness fell upon the town as hundreds of UN peacekeepers and a hundred or so Imperial garrison forces braced themselves for an incoming assault. The enemy, being former Imperial Legion units, would be very familiar and fond of night attacks as seen at Alnus Hill. All eyes were towards the East Gate, where enemy formations had been spotted in the direction of the gate. Citizens were evacuated to the North Gate, led by Lieutenant Itami, to make sure that civilian casualties were minimal in the case that a few stray bandits managed to enter Italica proper.

Sergeant Major Robinson pulled the binoculars off his eyes and turned to PFC Jump next to him. Both of them had night vision goggles on and were on the wall to spot any incoming enemy attacks. "We saw the enemy here earlier due to the drones, but I don't see a single living thing in that direction. What if they are using deception, like the Battle of Lodi where Napoleon made the defenders believe he would strike at the easiest points but instead crossed the river and struck the enemy from behind?"

The British Private First Class had a thoughtful look on her face. "I mean. It's not impossible. The river is pretty deep, but with some boats and rafts, they could technically cross. We have plenty of soldiers at the North Gate, so no need to worry sir."

"It's just... I don't know. I haven't been in command of a unit for a long time." Sergeant Major Robinson replied. Captain Kim was with Princess Pina at the center of the town, relaying orders and making sure that all gates were properly defended. "I may be a bit paranoid."

Private First Class Jump smiled, a bit too cheery. "It's fine! I'm sure that we'll be alright. Anyways, when was the last time you took command of a unit? I always hear about Captain Kim and all his adventures, but I never got to hear yours or any of the other members."

Despite the sudden question, the American soldier quickly jumped into his back story. "I was born and raised in good ol' California and joined the marines after graduating UCLA. I became a Sergeant First Class 6 years ago when I was deployed to Afghanistan to uproot some of the last Taliban cells that existed. Of course, by then, the Taliban was composed of a few dozen fanatics that terrorized a few farms and villages in the mountainous part of Afghanistan. I was in charge of a small squad of soldiers that fought and occupied the northern part for about 6 months..."

He was about to continue when the radio of both soldiers spoke. "This is Captain Kim, enemy units are attempting to cross the river and hit the North Gate where the civilians have been evacuated to. Requesting all units to focus on the North Gate and transfer troops."

"What do we do sergeant major? We're awaiting your orders." Sergeant Xiao Lin said over the radio.

The temporary leader of Recon Team Two was in a dilemma. Surely it didn't make sense for the bandits to strike using the river. They would easily get bogged down and even if there were only archers on the walls, the bandits would still take enormous amounts of casualties to even arrive in front of the North Gate. Although, Napoelon did use the same tactics at the Battle of Lodi.

It was possible that this decision might backfire on him after the battle, but he decided to take that leap of faith. "All units of Recon Team Two and the 18th People's Liberation Tank Corps stationed at the East Gate. Hold your positions. I repeat, hold your positions. Do not move an inch. I suspect that the enemy is attempting to confuse us and strike somewhere else."

That message was also transmitted to Captain Kim, who had no objections. "You may be right. We'll have to survey the situation carefully. Half of the Japanese regiment is to head towards the North Gate while the rest remain on stand by at the center of Italica. All Recon Teams and tanks are to return to their original position."

* * *

Lieutenant Itami fired his rifle at the incoming bandits. There were thousands of them, and the horde of bandits looked much more than the 5,000 that was previously estimated. He saw one of the bandits get hit and fall off the boat after he fired a round, but it could've been from any of the other members of Recon Team Two and the Chinese tank crew. He had been promised reinforcements from Captain Kim, but he would need to hold on till then.

"Remember! Make sure that we hold out till reinforcements arrive! We can not let them breach the walls, because the civilians are clustered up in this sector!" Lieutenant Itami shouted over the radio.

" _Roger."_ Every soldier said in different languages.

Recon Team Two was on the walls while the tanks were firing away from the open gate. The bandits were attempting to cross by foot and boat, which made them easy targets for the gun fire of the UN peacekeepers. More and more bandits fell into the water, but they just kept coming straight at the North Gate.

The Japanese lieutenant glanced back beyond the wall where thousands of frightened civilians were cowering inside buildings and on the streets from the loud gunfire and the approaching bandits. Itami knew the moment the bandits got past them, there would be a major butchering of innocent people.

 _And I won't let them._

One of the soldiers under his command, Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi, turned to her superior. She wasn't fond of Lieutenant Itami, but she had the same determination to hold the lines as Itami did. "Uh, lieutenant. Don't you think there's something strange about the bandits?"

Itami looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno. When the battle started, I accidentally had my heat vision goggles on instead of night vision goggles. I looked towards the bandits, but I saw no heat signatures except maybe one or two near the opposite side of the river. And when I switched on night vision, I saw pretty much thousands of bandits charging right at us."

One of the Chinese tank commanders, Lieutenant Zeng Fu, overheard them on the radio. "She may be onto something. I switched my tank temporarily to heat vision, but it picked up nothing except two heat signatures at the other side of the river. Something is going on here."

Lieutenant Itami turned to the sergeant. "Sergeant, can you possibly pick off the two heat signatures using your heat vision goggles?"

Sergeant First Class Kuribayashi nodded, gripping her rifle tightly. "Will do lieutenant."

She laid on her stomach and switched to her heat vision, eyeing her targets closely. She carefully adjusted her aim and fired. The first few shots missed, but the 4th shot struck home and the target went down, though it's heat signature was still active.

Almost instantly, half of the bandits disappeared into thin air. Whether they were in boats or in the water, half of the "attackers" was instantly gone.

"Just one more..." The sergeant mumbled with a small grin. Lieutenant Itami swore he felt some lust for blood seeping from Sergeant First Class Kuribayashi.

Realizing that the other person was shot down, the second target began to run. But not before the sergeant fired her shot at the target, hitting the target in the back.

After the target crumpled onto the ground, all the bandits disappeared. The boats were still present, but none of the bandits were in sight.

"Captain? This is Lieutenant Itami... I think they tricked us with some sort of illusion magic or something. Because, none of the bandits that stormed this wall were real."

* * *

The real point of attack was the East Gate, where thousands of bandits were rushing through the open gate. Recon Team Three and its tank crew were already alerted due to the lookouts on the wall, but even Sergeant Major Robinson was surprised at the sheer amount of bandits throwing themselves into the fire.

One of the Type 99 tanks fired a canister round that took out a few dozen bandits all at once. The bandits were a bit rattled, but kept on pushing forward through sheer numbers. Meanwhile, the machine guns and mortars Recon Team Three had set up earlier were banging away at the enemy, making it increasingly difficult for the bandits to even get close to the sand bag defenses set in a half circle around the open gate.

"Sergeant Major? How's the fighting going on over there?" The voice, belonging to Captain Kim, suddenly erupted from the Sergeant Major's ear piece. "I'm sending the Japanese regiment to your side of the gate. Just hold on till then."

The sergeant major, who was currently firing the Type 80 Machine Gun in front of him, nearly removed his finger from the trigger. "Captain, we're fine. We can hold them off. Just don't yell into my ear randomly. I'm too busy fighting."

He had seen plenty of blood and death before in various places, but some of the younger members weren't taking it too well. Especially PFC Jump, who was helping with the ammunition for his machine gun and looked ready to hurl due to all the gore and limbs flying around.

Sergeant Major Robinson patted her on the back. "It's fine private. You'll get over it soon. For now, let's concentrate on fighting. Remember, we have the lives of civilians in our hands."

PFC Jump weakly nodded and fed more ammunition into the machine gun. She would've been able to prevent herself from hurling too, if it wasn't for what happened next.

Out of nowhere, a small figure jumped behind a group of bandits and swung a huge halbred. Half a dozen bandits lost their heads immediately. One of the heads rolled next to PFC Jump, with the mouth still speaking something.

At that point PFC Jump hurled onto the ground while Sergeant Major Robinson, surprised by the sudden appearance of the figure, turned his machine gun from the bandits towards the figure and fired.


End file.
